On a busy day on Teesside, Boro reached agreement with Wigan striker Marlon King and his club over a six-month loan deal and closed in on a £2million swoop for Crystal Palace midfielder Ben Watson.

At the same time, they gave Wigan permission to talk to striker Mido about a proposed loan deal, but insisted there was no connection between that and King's arrival at the Riverside Stadium, amid speculation the pair could be swapped.

Both King, 28, and 23-year-old Watson were at the club's Rockliffe Park headquarters today with the frontman's move now simply a matter of processing the paperwork, a task that should be completed over the weekend.

In addition, Southgate hopes to tie up a deal for former Palace trainee Watson by this evening, with suggestions Boro face competition for his signature.

He said: "I only know we have agreed a fee, I don't know if other clubs have.

"We have been tracking Ben for quite a while. I have been very open with (Palace manager) Neil Warnock about that, we have had good dialogue over the last couple of months because he knew he was a player that Crystal Palace would probably move on in January.

"We feel we are at the head of the queue and, hopefully, we can seal that deal today."

The move for Watson came despite Southgate's repeated admission he would not have any money to spend this month unless he raised it himself, and he acknowledged his gratitude to chairman Steve Gibson for finding the cash.

He said: "He is a player we have watched for a long time. He has played in the Premier League before when Palace were in this league.

"He is one of the best players in the Championship. He scores and creates goals, he is a good passer of the ball, he has excellent set-piece delivery and a hunger to improve and to play at this level.

"They are all the attributes we look for when we want to bring somebody to the club."

King's loan spell at Hull came to an end after his furious reaction to being left out of the side for last weekend's 3-1 home defeat by Arsenal, and Southgate is hoping the Tigers' loss will be Boro's gain.

He said: "We feel he can add something different to the strikers we have got.

"I have seen a lot of him from his time at Watford and he was a real threat for them in the season they had in the Premier League.

"One of the reasons they probably went down was that he got a bad injury and it was a huge blow for them. They missed his leadership as well as his goals."

Whether or not King's arrival will signal Mido's departure 18 months after his £6million capture from Tottenham remains to be seen, although the 25-year-old seems to be in little doubt himself.

He told www.FilGoal: "My exit from Middlesbrough is almost certain, I am 95% sure of that.

"I have got some offers, including one from Spain, but I am not yet decided where I'll go.

"I know there are talks with Wigan, and I have to say I would be happy to play alongside [fellow Egyptian Amr] Zaki."

It is not the first time the former Spurs player has forecast his own exit, although Southgate insists he has not been agitating for a move despite struggling to command a regular place in the team.

As rumours grew Mido could be drafted in by Wigan boss Steve Bruce to replace Emile Heskey if he is sold, Southgate said: "No, he is not (unsettled) at all.

"He is perfectly settled here. He is not agitating in any way.

"Wigan have asked if they could speak to him, so the interest is from Wigan.

"They have got maybe one or two deals going on there and they are looking for possible replacements for players who might be going out, and it's as simple as that, really.

"It is not something that Mido has necessarily been pushing."