We've done our homework on him - he has great potential," said Steve McClaren on signing Massimo Maccarone for a club record £8.15m in 2002, in one of those deals that must make the top bods at the FA rub their hands with glee at having Seventh-Choice Steve in charge of England.
Fast-forward less than five years and Maccarone is heading back to Italy for absolutely bugger all, leaving Boro with only a couple of late UEFA Cup goals and a magnificently shiny head to show for over eight million quid and God knows how much in wages.
Obviously, this has prompted us to look at some other players who have arrived for big fees and then left out of the back door for absolutely zilch...
JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON
Described by Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri as "the best midfielder in the world" when he signed from ManYoo for £15m in the summer of 2003 (he kept a straight face despite two underwhelming years at Old Trafford), 'The Little Witch' became the first big-money player of the Roman Abramovich era.
Just how soon into Veron's Chelsea career Abramovich decided to look for a new manager, remains to be seen. But as soon as Jose Mourinho walked into Stamford Bridge he sent everyone's favourite Ming the Merciless lookalike back to Italy on loan at Inter Milan. And there he stayed until his contract expired and the £15m was worth absolutely nothing.
SERGEI REBROV
Proof that Ukrainians and the Premiership don't mix long before Andriy Shevchenko came to these shores, Rebrov arrived at Tottenham for a massive £11m as one of Europe's hottest properties. It's hard to believe now, but at the time everyone wondered how on earth George Graham had convinced him to join lowly Spurs.
The answer, it seems, was that Graham had promised him long-ball football, a tactic that did not fit in with the Glenn Hoddle ethos. He preferred Steffen Iversen. Rebrov was quickly shipped off on loan to Fenerbahce, and four years after he arrived in England, he slipped off for free to completely flop at West Ham too. It just goes to show, you can take the man out of the Ukraine, but you can't make him score.
SETH JOHNSON
The familiar tale goes as follows (change the figures to suit) - the 22-year-old Seth Johnson arrived in Leeds for contract talks with Peter Ridsdale determined to accept no less than £13,000 a week, Ridsdale strode into the room claiming he would offer no more than £30,000. Johnson almost choked and so Ridsdale 'relented' and offered another seven grand a week.
Even disregarding those massive wages, Johnson cost Leeds £7m from Derby when he was a £4m man at best. Four years and less than 60 appearances later he returned from whence he came for absolutely nothing. So that went well then.
BOSKO BALABAN
This was a player so bad that there were rumours that John Gregory had signed someone purporting to be the Bosko Balaban who had a one-in-two record for Dinamo Zagreb before joining Aston Villa for £5.8m. He made just a handful of appearances for Villa - mostly from the substitutes' bench - citing homesickness.
There was little surprise when Balaban's name came up in investigations into Gregory's transfer dealings, and even less surprise when the Croatian's contract was quietly cancelled and he joined Belgian side FC Brugge. No matter how bad Marcus Allback, Juan Pablo Angel and Milan Baros have been on occasion, they can always say 'at least I'm no Bosko Balaban'.
STAN COLLYMORE
When Villa boss John Gregory was asked about a 'strain' suffered by Stan Collymore he replied: "It's quite a bad one. It will probably keep him out for a couple of weeks - it's located just between his ears."
That was £7m Stan Collymore, a man suffering from depression and a massive chip on his shoulder. Ulrika Jonsson took the biggest blows from Britain's most famous dogger but Villa's coffers also took a belt as eventually the only way they could offload Collymore was for free - after three years, seven Premiership goals and a long, long spell in The Priory.
KEVIN DAVIES
Nine Premiership goals for Southampton was somehow enough to persuade Roy Hodgson to pay £7.5m for a striker who was limited at best. Clearly delusional, Hodgson also contrived to pay £3m for Sebastien Perez. Why did nobody stop him?
Davies' return on the £7.5m? One Premiership goal for Blackburn. And then he was heading back to Southampton with his tail between his legs. Okay, it wasn't strictly a free transfer as a player headed in the opposite direction. But swapped with Egil Ostenstad? It's as close as dammit.
Fast-forward less than five years and Maccarone is heading back to Italy for absolutely bugger all, leaving Boro with only a couple of late UEFA Cup goals and a magnificently shiny head to show for over eight million quid and God knows how much in wages.
Obviously, this has prompted us to look at some other players who have arrived for big fees and then left out of the back door for absolutely zilch...
JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON
Described by Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri as "the best midfielder in the world" when he signed from ManYoo for £15m in the summer of 2003 (he kept a straight face despite two underwhelming years at Old Trafford), 'The Little Witch' became the first big-money player of the Roman Abramovich era.
Just how soon into Veron's Chelsea career Abramovich decided to look for a new manager, remains to be seen. But as soon as Jose Mourinho walked into Stamford Bridge he sent everyone's favourite Ming the Merciless lookalike back to Italy on loan at Inter Milan. And there he stayed until his contract expired and the £15m was worth absolutely nothing.
SERGEI REBROV
Proof that Ukrainians and the Premiership don't mix long before Andriy Shevchenko came to these shores, Rebrov arrived at Tottenham for a massive £11m as one of Europe's hottest properties. It's hard to believe now, but at the time everyone wondered how on earth George Graham had convinced him to join lowly Spurs.
The answer, it seems, was that Graham had promised him long-ball football, a tactic that did not fit in with the Glenn Hoddle ethos. He preferred Steffen Iversen. Rebrov was quickly shipped off on loan to Fenerbahce, and four years after he arrived in England, he slipped off for free to completely flop at West Ham too. It just goes to show, you can take the man out of the Ukraine, but you can't make him score.
SETH JOHNSON
The familiar tale goes as follows (change the figures to suit) - the 22-year-old Seth Johnson arrived in Leeds for contract talks with Peter Ridsdale determined to accept no less than £13,000 a week, Ridsdale strode into the room claiming he would offer no more than £30,000. Johnson almost choked and so Ridsdale 'relented' and offered another seven grand a week.
Even disregarding those massive wages, Johnson cost Leeds £7m from Derby when he was a £4m man at best. Four years and less than 60 appearances later he returned from whence he came for absolutely nothing. So that went well then.
BOSKO BALABAN
This was a player so bad that there were rumours that John Gregory had signed someone purporting to be the Bosko Balaban who had a one-in-two record for Dinamo Zagreb before joining Aston Villa for £5.8m. He made just a handful of appearances for Villa - mostly from the substitutes' bench - citing homesickness.
There was little surprise when Balaban's name came up in investigations into Gregory's transfer dealings, and even less surprise when the Croatian's contract was quietly cancelled and he joined Belgian side FC Brugge. No matter how bad Marcus Allback, Juan Pablo Angel and Milan Baros have been on occasion, they can always say 'at least I'm no Bosko Balaban'.
STAN COLLYMORE
When Villa boss John Gregory was asked about a 'strain' suffered by Stan Collymore he replied: "It's quite a bad one. It will probably keep him out for a couple of weeks - it's located just between his ears."
That was £7m Stan Collymore, a man suffering from depression and a massive chip on his shoulder. Ulrika Jonsson took the biggest blows from Britain's most famous dogger but Villa's coffers also took a belt as eventually the only way they could offload Collymore was for free - after three years, seven Premiership goals and a long, long spell in The Priory.
KEVIN DAVIES
Nine Premiership goals for Southampton was somehow enough to persuade Roy Hodgson to pay £7.5m for a striker who was limited at best. Clearly delusional, Hodgson also contrived to pay £3m for Sebastien Perez. Why did nobody stop him?
Davies' return on the £7.5m? One Premiership goal for Blackburn. And then he was heading back to Southampton with his tail between his legs. Okay, it wasn't strictly a free transfer as a player headed in the opposite direction. But swapped with Egil Ostenstad? It's as close as dammit.
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