Middlesbrough have confirmed that Rudy Gestede has joined Daniel Ayala in heading through the exit door after turning down a short-term contract extension beyond June 30.
The Riverside outfit have a number of players whose contracts expire at the end of the month and they are looking to keep hold of most of them until their Championship season concludes on July 20.
Earlier this month, Ayala was permitted to leave the club following a seven-year stint and Gestede has now followed the centre-back after declining to prolong his stay for another three weeks.
Gestede joined Boro from Aston Villa in January 2016 and made a total of 71 appearances across all competitions. However, only 20 of those outings came from the starting XI and he managed just eight goals in the process.
As a result, his departure is not a major loss for the club, but newly-appointed manager Neil Warnock would have preferred to see the commitment from the striker for the rest of the season.
Aside from Gestede and Ayala, Jonny Howson, George Friend, Marvin Johnson, Adam Clayton and Ryan Shotton are among the other players, whose contracts conclude in a couple of days’ time. Boro have yet to make a decision on their futures.
Middlesbrough returned to winning ways in Warnock’s first game in-charge on Saturday afternoon as they picked up a 2-0 win over Stoke City away from home.
Ashley Fletcher and Marcus Tavernier scored in the first and second half respectively as the club jumped three points clear of the relegation places. They are scheduled to face Hull City on the road on Tuesday evening.
Stats from Transfermarkt.com
