Middlesbrough head coach, Michael Carrick remains unmoved in his view of the current contract situations of Chuba Akpom and Paddy McNair.
During yesterday’s press conference, aired on the club’s website, he fielded yet more questions about Middlesbrough’s star man Chuba Akpom.
Amidst talk of interest in the striker from Premier League clubs, Carrick calmly responded to the enquiry with, “He’s our player, Chuba, I’m relaxed. I had a good chat with him this morning, he’s got a contract with us so, yeah I’m relaxed”.
Laughing as he attempted to assess the situation, he added, “Sometimes when you get to this kind of situation, everyone gets carried away both ways you know, but ultimately, he’s got a contract with us, we’ve had a great relationship, he’s done great things for me, and certainly for the club, so yeah, I’m quite relaxed.”
Time will tell whether or not Boro manage to keep hold of such a valuable asset, but Akpom himself has given assurances to fans that he is happy to stay at the club, so there will not be any kind of protest on that front.
It means the club hold the aces. They need to decide whether or not they want to undertake a risk/reward strategy in keeping Akpom in the hope they’ll be promoted.
The player is happy, they can chose to keep their main man and aim for the Premier League, or they can approach the situation more from a business point of view; acknowledge the fact there is only one year remaining on his contract, and make a profit. It is that simple.
Calm authority
The fact that Carrick chose to say, ‘he’s got a contract with us’, rather than a generic ‘I don’t deal with that stuff’ shows some degree of control and authority. Fans would like to believe that his words have enough gravitas to influence the club’s hierarchy, of course the reality is that it may not be a decision for him. Nevertheless it once again highlight’s Carrick’s composed and commanding aura.
It would be a real statement if Carrick could say to the club bosses (of Akpom and McNair), ‘These are my players, I don’t want them going anywhere this season.’
Paddy McNair is another with one year left on his contract and is also a player who has caught the eye of potential suitors from the Premier League. Carrick responded similarly when asked about his situation. “Same”. Was the simple but defiant reply.
“He’s our player. It’s great to have him, erm, it’s that time of year isn’t it? There’s contract situations knocking about, it’s the transfer window so there’s names getting thrown about here, there and everywhere. I understand that, it is what it is. Until there is anything really going on, then it doesn’t concern me”
Paddy McNair is a trusted member of the squad and is likely to deputise at right-back in the absence of Tommy Smith and Anfernee Dijksteel on Saturday.