English Premiership side Middlesbrough has unveiled their new signing Egyptian Mohamed Shawki and Gary O'Neil the former Portsmouth midfielder on Tuesday.


Egyptian star Shawky, a year older than O'Neil at 25, is more of an unknown quantity but Southgate believes that in time he will prove excellent value for his £650,000 transfer fee.

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SouthGate Said

"Shawky is a central midfield player who's a good passer of the ball," he said. "He's fit and aggressive with a good temperament and we feel that at the fee we've got him for he's an excellent addition to the squad.

"There was a suggestion we could bring him on a trial period but we didn't think that was necessary, he's an experienced international. We know it will possibly take him a little bit of time to settle into English football, but he has the attributes to come here and do well.

"Having Mido here will help him to settle. We were able to ask Mido for a character reference, if you like. His English is good but it always helps to have somebody speaking his own language in the team."

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