Josh Coburn's Millwall wage compared to Middlesbrough's David Strelec - Boro fans will be feeling smug | OneFootball

Middlesbrough sold Josh Coburn to Millwall in the summer and signed David Strelec to help replace him.

Josh Coburn made a big-money move from Middlesbrough to Millwall in the summer after spending the previous season on loan at The Den, with David Strelec arriving on Teesside to help replace him.

It was reported that the Lions paid a club-record fee worth around £5 million to sign the forward after his initial loan stint, from which he bagged five league goals.

While injuries limited him to only 20 appearances in the Championship last year, the London outfit still made sure to keep hold of him on a permanent basis.

Coburn has scored just once from his opening eight league games this year, however, with Alex Neil’s side sitting eighth in the table, while Middlesbrough have replaced him with David Strelec.

Here we use estimated figures from Capology to compare the 22-year-old’s wages at Millwall with Boro’s new centre-forward…

Josh Coburn’s weekly Millwall salary

Coburn initially signed on loan for Millwall in the 2024 summer transfer window, but a calf injury in his second appearance limited his minutes for the club.

He made 20 appearances in the Championship, including 14 starts, registering five goals as the club finished eighth in the table.

While the Bermondsey-based side narrowly missed out on a play-off place, the Lions made the decision to pursue a permanent deal for the forward, as he does fit that physical target man profile that is synonymous with the way that Millwall play.

As part of his long-term contract, which runs until the summer of 2029, Millwall agreed to pay him £10,000 per week, as per Capology.

This is more than the average weekly salary at the Den, which amounts to roughly £8,500-a-week, and is a cool £2,500 per week pay rise from the £7,500 weekly wage he was previously picking up at Middlesbrough.

However, he is far from the highest earner at the club, with that honour going to Joe Bryan.

The experienced full-back earns £32,500 per week from the Championship side, with Alfie Doughty’s £27,500 per week making him the second best paid member of the first-team squad.

The likes of Luke Cundle, Massimo Luongo, Jake Cooper and Danny McNamara all also earn more than the former Middlesbrough player, who graduated from Boro's academy before going on to make 56 senior appearances for the Teessiders, scoring 12 times in the process.

David Strelec’s Middlesbrough wage compared to Josh Coburn's

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough made the move for Strelec late in the summer window, with the player arriving from Slovan Bratislava on deadline day after having also been a target for Boro in the previous winter window too.

He didn’t take long to get his first goal for the club either, scoring in his second appearance in a 2-1 victory over West Brom.

Compared to Coburn, the 24-year-old’s weekly salary of £17,500 (as per Capology) doesn’t look too bad given his prominence in Rob Edwards’ side, and the profile and pedigree he has.

Coburn was unable to make much of an impact at the Riverside, and often struggled for consistent minutes alongside his numerous injury issues prior to his initial exit last year.

But Strelec has immediately cemented himself as a core part of the squad since joining the Teesside outfit, and with 25 goals to his name for Slovan last term, and with five of those coming in the Champions League, the Slovakian international certainly looks to be a striker capable of becoming one of the Championship's best.

While Middlesbrough are paying slightly more per week for Strelec compared to what Coburn is earning at Millwall, that extra £7,500 weekly cost could look very worthwhile if he can continue to perform well for the team amid their promotion push, and looks great value for Boro given what Coburn is picking up in Bermondsey.

It was reported that Strelec was signed in a deal worth an up-front fee of £6.5 million, with an additional £2 million in add-ons.

Therefore, given the £5 million sale of Coburn, Middlesbrough