Middlesbrough Could Strike On ‘Remained Low’ Aspect As Push To Hijack Birmingham City Swoop Ongoing | OneFootball

Middlesbrough have not yet reached an agreement with Ajax for Chuba Akpom yet, but they are trying to hijack Birmingham City‘s swoop for him and could present a deal the Dutch prefer.

Birmingham do have an agreement in place with Ajax to take Akpom on loan for the season, with the loan containing an obligation to buy in the event that Blues win promotion to the Premier League.

Ajax have been favouring a permanent sale of Akpom, as they seek to move him on, but interest from clubs on that basis ‘remained low’.

Now Middlesbrough are trying to hijack Birmingham’s swoop for Akpom, however, there is no agreement between Boro and Ajax yet, according to journalist Alex Crook.

If Middlesbrough come up with a permanent deal which is acceptable for Ajax, that may well be something the Dutch giants prefer, despite their agreement with Birmingham.

Blues have been looking for more attacking options and were in the mix to try to sign Mikey Moore on loan from Tottenham Hotspur.

They also offloaded Alfie May, prolific at League One level, to Huddersfield Town and May wasted no time in opening his Terriers account, scoring from the penalty spot in Saturday’s 3-0 win over Leyton Orient.

Akpom was on the books at Middlesbrough between 2020 and 2023, during which time he struck 34 times in 82 outings in a Boro shirt.

Now Middlesbrough want him back at the Riverside and are attempting to sway him away from a move to Birmingham.

Akpom is proven at Championship level and both clubs believe that landing him would mean a guarantee of goals in the league.

He struggled to make an impact at Ajax and the Dutch club loaned him to French side Lille for the second half of last term, with an option to buy that the Ligue 1 outfit did not take up.

The attacker was tipped for a big future in the game while at Hull City, with Steve Bruce talking up his potential.