English clubs were ‘crazy’ for not making a move for Chuba Akpom when he was starring at Middlesbrough, with the striker now shining for Ajax.
That’s according to journalist Kenneth Perez, who cannot believe English teams did not compete with Ajax for the striker’s signature.
Akpom joined the Dutch giants in a €12.3m deal from Middlesbrough in August after a superb season for the Championship side that had seen him score 29 goals in 42 games in all competitions, 28 of which came in the Championship.
It was a remarkable season for the striker, who had initially been completely unwanted by Middlesbrough after a disappointing first year at the club but bounced back to become the key man under Michael Carrick.
He’s been playing a secondary role at the club this season but still managed to impress, with eight goals in 17 games this season including a double in the 3-1 win over AKE Athens on Thursday.
That performance led to compliments from Perez, who can’t believe that English teams didn’t push to sign him.
“And I still say: those English clubs are crazy,” he said.
“They buy everything they can. He played football there in front of them, but they still didn’t take him. They will be the top scorer of the Championship. There must be more to it than why they don’t get it.”
“It’s a good purchase if you don’t expect him to score 25 goals for you,” added Pierre van Hooijdonk.
“Because he will miss a lot of opportunities. He does score a number of goals, but I think that ratio is at a completely different level than Gimenez and Pavlidis, the top scorers in the competition.
“I have looked back at goals from the period when Akpom played at Middlesbrough. There is no marker. A lot of hard shooting, but then everything can come in for a month, and the month after that everything can hit the post.”
