ITALIAN Massimo Maccarone has insisted he will be aiming to prove a point as he aims to fire Middlesbrough to glory next season.

Maccarone, understood to have already signed a five-year deal with the Riverside outfit, admitted that a move to England was not his first choice.

But the £8m Empoli striker indicated that he is delighted to be uprooting to Teesside and he is convinced he can make a name for himself in the Premiership.

"I cannot say that Middlesbrough was the place I dreamt of playing but I am going there to play football not for anything else," said Maccarone, who celebrated his 23rd birthday earlier this month.

"To have played in Italy would have been the best because I am Italian but it is not my fault that no club in Italy wanted me.

"Middlesbrough have given me the opportunity to play and I will repay them.

"I signed a five-year deal with Middlesbrough and I aim to respect it, I am young and I have to build up my career.

He added: "Middlesbrough is an industrial city, I will learn English and I want to integrate in the group straight away, also my family and friends will come to visit me."

Maccarone, who started his career as a trainee at AC Milan, burst on to the scene when he scored 26 Serie B goals in two seasons.

The forward scored 11 times for Italy under-21s - including a spectacular brace against England during this summer's European Championships - and he earned his first full cap against England at Elland Road earlier this year.

And Maccarone believes the fact he has had to leave Italy to further his career will return to haunt the bigger clubs in Serie A.

"I will prove them wrong, I have to play well and to prove to those teams who have not bought me that they have made a mistake for not buying me," said Maccarone, who also caught the attentions of Spurs, Birmingham and Chelsea.

Boro striker Alen Boksic has performed a u-turn and decided to continue playing international football ."I love my homeland and I still have motivation to play for Croatia," he said.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.