40% pass success v Cardiff: Can Latte Lath fill the Chuba Akpom void at Middlesbrough? | OneFootball

Emmanuel Latte Lath signed for Middlesbrough this season on a four-year contract with the club, plus the option of a further year.

The 24-year-old forward is capable of playing as a striker or wide forward and has played seven times for the club so far following his move from Italian giants Atalanta this summer.

He struggled to break through into their first team, and was sent on various loan spells, the best of which came at Swiss outfit St. Gallen last season.

He joined clubs such as Aurora Pro Patrial, Imolese Calcio, Carrarese Calcio, and US Pistoiese among others. Fairly recently, in Italy, he had a loan spell at SPAL in Serie B; but it was in Switzerland where the Ivorian striker notched 16 times in just 34 outings and earnt his move to the Championship.

A similar record for Middlesbrough would help to fill the void left by Chuba Akpom, who left the club in favour of a move to Ajax in the summer, as well as losing Cameron Archer that was a huge blow for Michael Carrick, meaning Latte Lath had big boots to fill.

Di Marzio claims that the initial fee that Boro are paying for the striker is €5 million (£4.3 million), with an extra €1.5 million (£1.3 million) in performance related add-ons that could be met in the future, so it could reach £5.6 million overall.

Boro also saw other key attacking players such as Ryan Giles and Aaron Ramsey leave, in a summer of change for Carrick's side and a new-look team. Akpom came off the back of an incredible campaign in the Championship last season where he scored 28 league goals and won the golden boot, which would be some feat for Latte Lath to repeat.

Like all new recruits, the former Atalanta man needs time to settle, and he has shown signs he could be a big player this season in recent games. He scored in the second game and started the first five in all competitions, but was guilty of being wasteful in front of goal in the majority of them.

That led to him being dropped against Sheffield Wednesday and Southampton, where Boro won their first league game of the season. He was then recalled to the starting lineup in the EFL Cup win over Bradford City where he collected his second goal for the side, but it wasn't enough to be recalled in the league.

He was unused substitute again over the weekend during the club's latest 3-2 win over Watford but came off the bench against Cardiff City on Tuesday night.

How did Latte Lath perform against Cardiff? Could he replace Akpom?

He scored his third goal in seven game for the club after coming on as a substitute for Josh Coburn on 70 minutes. It would take him just 14 minutes to get his goal.

The 24-year-old burst forward on the counter-attack between multiple Cardiff defenders and kept his composure to skip inside Mahlon Romeo and beat Jak Alnwick with a nice finish.

Latte Lath ran with frightening speed from close to the halfway before cutting inside, stumbling and then regaining his balance to slot home, you can see the goal below.

The centre-forward scored two goals in a week with that strike, and is starting to perhaps show more signs of life in the role he was brought in to fill.

Per Sofascore, he has an xG this season of 2.69 in the Championship, scoring twice. He has also missed four big chances at a conversion rate of just 11%.

His most recent goal was a 0.31xG chance, which is described as a "big" chance as it is above 0.3xG, and he was also successful with two of his four dribbles in just over 20 minutes of action, which is the other attribute he is well known for having.

His directness was useful; however, he is still somewhat wasteful in possession and in holding the ball. He turned the ball over to the opposition five times and only completed 40% of his passes v Cardiff City.

etention and playing safer options when only one or two goals up is perhaps something to keep an eye on.

Carrick's game management from winning positions was a strong point last season, and explains why Latte Lath may not have been getting as many starts if he consistently allows the opposition the ball back to hit Boro in transition.

His pace, direct running, and eye for goal will all be qualities to utilise at points this season, but he doesn't possess all of Akpom's best in terms of what he can do to link play or retain the ball for teammates to get up the pitch and join the attack.