Following his spell at Lazio, Bokšić surprised the footballing world by joining English Premier League club Middlesbrough for a transfer fee of £2.5 million. On his debut for Middlesbrough, Boksic scored twice and claimed an assist in a 3-1 win over Coventry City. At the time of his signing, some reports claimed that he had become the highest-paid player in English football, earning a reputed £63,000 per week. However, there are no documented sources for this claim, which was vehemently denied by manager Bryan Robson: "The wages quoted are a total nonsense. I got to hear about this long before anyone else and that's why we acted quickly and decisively. Talk of £63,000 a week is utter rubbish."