Former Middlesbrough striker, Chuba Akpom has broken his silence on claims that teams from England and France are monitoring his situation during the current transfer window.
Akpom, who was the Championship’s top scorer last season with a mightily impressive 28 goals, moved to Dutch giants Ajax in the summer but struggled to make an immediate impact under the leadership of then manager Maurice Steijn.
He has since hit a run of scoring form and now has 9 goals in 20 appearances overall this season, but still finds himself on the substitutes bench for the most part. He has started just 5 games this campaign. It has prompted rumours that the Dutch outfit may send him out on loan which has alerted a number of clubs.
In a recent interview with Voetbal International, Akpom insisted that he wants to stay at Ajax and make it work, indicating that he could improve his form further if he was to be given more game time.
He said, “I just hope to stay. There is interest from France, from England, but I really feel that this can still be a success story for me at Ajax.
“I just have to go play. Everything I’ve done so far has been in a limited time.
“Imagine if I were to play everything, I feel like I could really have a successful time here.”
Boro’s star man
The 28-year-old was Boro’s star man last term and it appeared initially that he was happy to stay on Teesside, but he was a victim of his own success and the club were always going to struggle to repel transfer bids in the region of £12 million.
Akpom was expertly managed by Michael Carrick last season, something that the former Arsenal man was eternally grateful for. Carrick immediately identified that one of the reasons for Akpom’s struggles in his career, was that he was not a typical number nine. He utilised him in a deeper lying 10 role, where he could pick the ball up from deep and break into the box to get on the end of moves.
His Championship form was imperious and saw him break multiple records in a Boro shirt. Including being the first player to score 20 goals in a league season since legend Bernie Slaven.
A move looks unlikely
Whether or not Carrick would be interested in trying to tempt Ajax into loaning the former star back to The Riverside is doubtful, for a number of reasons. Middlesbrough have recruited heavily since his departure and have a lot of players in competition in that area. Morgan Rogers, Alex Gilbert, Finn Azaz, Sam Greenwood and Sami Silvera have all been brought in to that attacking midfield area. Akpom coming back in on the short term would only stifle their development.
There is also the small question of wages. Akpom will be on a much more handsome salary at a club like Ajax, and presumably they would want a sizeable contribution towards it if he were to come back. The other obvious caveat, is that you would imagine there would be a host of top clubs who would be interested should he be available on loan.
All in all, a move for a player who Boro still hold in their hearts looks highly unlikely. But it is football, so never say never.