By James Dall Last updated: 4th July 2008
Emnes: Boro switch
Middlesbrough have completed the signing of forward Marvin Emnes from Eredivisie side Sparta Rotterdam.
The 20-year-old has joined for a fee of €4million (£3.2million) and agreed a four-year contract at The Riverside after passing a medical.
Emnes reportedly attracted interest from a number of European clubs after he scored eight goals in 26 games last term and was named as Sparta fans' player of the year.
Boro, however, have won the race to secure his signature, and manager Gareth Southgate has expressed his delight at the capture.
"We feel we have signed an exciting young player in Marvin," Southgate told the club's official website.
"Last season was his breakthrough year at Sparta Rotterdam and he ended the campaign with a flurry, scoring eight goals in his final 10 games.
"He can play anywhere across the front line, so he has versatility to go with pace, energy and technical skills.
"Marvin is very enthusiastic about coming to England and the challenge of Premier League football.
"He also fits the profile of the sort of players we want at Middlesbrough, in that he is a young player with hunger, energy and pace."

Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Fuller and Sorensen
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan - Defoe
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Pulis
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Shreeves' blog
Stoke 1-0 Portsmouth - Hart
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan - Redknapp
Tottenham 9-1 Wigan - Martinez
Bolton 0-2 Blackburn - Megson
| Time | Fixture |
|---|---|
| Wednesday 25th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 19:45 | Hull vs Everton |
| 20:00 | Fulham vs Blackburn |
| Saturday 28th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Fulham vs Bolton |
| 15:00 | Man City vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Portsmouth vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Sunderland |
| 17:30 | Aston Villa vs Tottenham |
| Sunday 29th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:00 | Wolverhampton vs Birmingham |
| 13:30 | Everton vs Liverpool |
| 16:00 | Arsenal vs Chelsea |
| Saturday 5th December | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| 12:45 | Portsmouth vs Burnley |
| 15:00 | Arsenal vs Stoke |
| 15:00 | Aston Villa vs Hull |
| 15:00 | Blackburn vs Liverpool |
| 15:00 | West Ham vs Man Utd |
| 15:00 | Wigan vs Birmingham |
| 15:00 | Wolverhampton vs Bolton |
| 17:30 | Man City vs Chelsea |
| Time | Result |
|---|---|
| Sunday 22nd November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Bolton 0 - 2 Blackburn | |
| Tottenham 9 - 1 Wigan | |
| Stoke 1 - 0 Portsmouth | |
| Saturday 21st November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 2 - 2 Man City | |
| Hull 3 - 3 West Ham | |
| Sunderland 1 - 0 Arsenal | |
| Chelsea 4 - 0 Wolverhampton | |
| Man Utd 3 - 0 Everton | |
| Birmingham 1 - 0 Fulham | |
| Burnley 1 - 1 Aston Villa | |
| Monday 9th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Liverpool 2 - 2 Birmingham | |
| Sunday 8th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Hull 2 - 1 Stoke | |
| Wigan 1 - 1 Fulham | |
| Chelsea 1 - 0 Man Utd | |
| West Ham 1 - 2 Everton | |
| Saturday 7th November | |
| Barclays Premier League | |
| Aston Villa 5 - 1 Bolton | |
| Blackburn 3 - 1 Portsmouth | |
| Tottenham 2 - 0 Sunderland | |
| Wolverhampton 1 - 4 Arsenal | |
| Man City 3 - 3 Burnley | |
| Pos | Team | P | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 13 | 33 |
| 2 | Manchester United | 13 | 28 |
| 3 | Arsenal | 12 | 25 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 25 |
| 5 | Aston Villa | 13 | 22 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 12 | 21 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 13 | 20 |
| 8 | Sunderland | 13 | 20 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 13 | 19 |
| 10 | Burnley | 13 | 17 |
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 12 | 16 |
| 12 | Fulham | 12 | 15 |
| 13 | Birmingham City | 13 | 15 |
| 14 | Everton | 12 | 15 |
| 15 | Wigan Athletic | 13 | 14 |
| 16 | Hull City | 13 | 12 |
| 17 | West Ham United | 13 | 11 |
| 18 | Bolton Wanderers | 12 | 11 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 13 | 10 |
| 20 | Portsmouth | 13 | 7 |
Skysports.com looks at the best and worst moments from the latest round of top-flight fixtures.
Take a look back at what Liverpool and Man City fans had to say following a 2-2 draw at Anfield.
Bristol City fan Hannah Shine was strutting her as the Soccerette in the Soccer AM studios this week.
Jermain Defoe helped himself to five goals as Tottenham demolished Wigan 9-1 at White Hart Lane to move into fourth spot in the table.
Paul Hart played down the injury to David James prior to Portsmouth's 1-0 defeat to Stoke on Sunday.
Stoke collected all three points against Portsmouth thanks to a late strike from Ricardo Fuller.
Bolton squandered the chance to climb out of the bottom three as they were beaten 2-0 at home by Blackburn.
Tony Pulis put Stoke's poor first-half performance against Portsmouth at the Britannia Stadium down to nerves.