PADDY McNAIR and Aden Flint will be included in the Middlesbrough squad that travels to Austria for a pre-season training camp later today after a hectic 24 hours of transfer activity at Rockliffe Park.

McNair’s £5m arrival from Sunderland was completed yesterday afternoon, with the midfielder having signed a four-year deal on Teesside.

Flint’s transfer from Bristol City should be formally confirmed this morning after he successfully underwent a medical at Boro’s training ground yesterday.

Bristol City have agreed a £6m deal for the centre-half, who only signed a new deal at Ashton Gate in March.

Boro boss Tony Pulis identified Flint as his leading defensive target at the start of the transfer window, but Bristol City were initially reluctant to sell one of their leading assets.

A number of Championship clubs registered an interest in the 28-year-old, but Boro were the first to table a formal offer and their proactive approach has paid off.

Flint travelled to the North-East yesterday, and will join his new team-mates in Austria as Pulis steps up his preparations for the new Championship campaign.

Having begun his career in non-league football with Alfreton and Matlock, Flint signed his first professional deal with Swindon in 2011 and spent two seasons playing at the County Ground before making a £300,000 switch to Bristol City in the summer of 2013.

He has made 246 senior appearances for the Robins, and established a reputation as one of the most consistent defensive performers in the Championship.

He offers a considerable threat from set-pieces, and has scored an impressive 38 goals in his five seasons as a Bristol City player.

His arrival has led to increased speculation about the future of fellow centre-half Ben Gibson, but Boro officials insist Flint’s signing should not be interpreted as an indication that Gibson could leave before the transfer window closes at the start of August.

Boro have not received any offers for Gibson despite speculation linking him with a number of Premier League clubs, and there is no financial necessity for them to sell any of their leading players this summer.

McNair effectively replaces Mo Besic from last season’s squad, although he offers more of an attacking threat than the Bosnian, who returned to Everton at the end of his loan spell on Teesside.

A Northern Ireland international, McNair started his career in the youth set-up at Manchester United before making a £5.5m move to Sunderland two summers ago.

His time on Wearside was disrupted by a series of injuries, including a serious knee problem that sidelined him for almost a year, but he scored three goals in his final five appearances last season and was widely regarded as Sunderland’s best player as they dropped out of the Championship.

He expressed a desire to leave the Black Cats in the immediate aftermath of their relegation, and Sunderland accepted Boro’s £5m offer for his services a week-and-a-half ago.

At that stage, negotiations were effectively passed over to the midfielder’s representatives, but talks broke down last Thursday when Boro became frustrated at the parallel discussions that were taking place with other clubs. However, a series of further talks with McNair’s representatives at the weekend resulted in a deal being resurrected.

Stoke City offered the 23-year-old an opportunity to move to the Britannia Stadium, and Brighton also signalled their continued interest despite having an initial bid of around £3.5m turned down.

However, McNair opted to join Middlesbrough and is likely to make his first appearance for the club when they take on Austrian side Sturm Graz in a friendly at the end of their pre-season training camp on Thursday, July 5.