Middlesbrough saw Chuba Akpom leave for Ajax in the summer. But so far, the Englishman’s move to the Eredivisie hasn’t gone too well.
Middlesbrough were somewhat forced into selling their star man in the summer.
Akpom was out of contract at the end of next season and after his 28-goal haul in the Championship last time round, persuading him to stay was always going to be tough.
Michael Carrick’s side then suffered a poor start to the season. But a 4-0 win over Sunderland last time out handed Boro a fourth-straight win in the Championship, with the club now in 16th place of the table.
And Akpom’s Ajax are in 16th place of the Eredivisie table, which is the highest of the three relegation places, with Akpom having yet to score in four league appearances for the Dutch giants.
The club is in crisis mode and Fabrizio Romano revealed on Twitter yesterday that internal talks will take place regarding head coach Maurice Steijn this week, with Romano labelling Ajax’s start to the season as a ‘horrible’ one.
What next for Akpom?
With Ajax having invested in Akpom in the summer, they’ll no doubt want to get their money’s worth.
But getting that will mean giving Akpom a bit more exposure in the Dutch top flight and right now, he’s not really getting that.
He’s been limited in terms of game time and given how poorly Ajax are doing in the league, not playing a striker who scored nearly 30 goals in the Championship last season is surprising.
Akpom remains a good player and he still has plenty of years left ahead of him, so there’s hope still that he comes good for Ajax. But if not, then he’ll no doubt have a number of suitors in England.
Middlesbrough return to action vs Birmingham City later in the month.
