... he believes he is entering his prime after signing for Wigan on a four-and-a-half-year deal from Celtic.
The 27-year-old Scotland international snubbed Boro, and there were many Teessiders rubbing their hands with glee.
Gary Caldwell: "I feel like I'm coming into the best years of my career - as a defender once you get into your 30s I think you do your best stuff.
"Hopefully Wigan have got my best years and I'll do well for the club.
"The manager made it quite clear what his ambitions are for this club and how much he wanted to bring me here.
"To play in the Premier League has always been an ambition of mine but I know how tough it's going to be to get in the side and I need to focus on winning a place and doing the best I can for my new club.
"You look at the league table and it's very tight.
"But there are a lot of teams worried and it's going to be a dogfight right until the very end.
"There's some great players in this team and we've got a squad that's good enough to stay in the Premier League and progress from there."