Luke's Football blog

How his career started

Chuba started his career as a product of the Hale End academy, where he made a few appearances for the Arsenal first team as he was tipped to be their next star and striker for the future, but it didn’t pan out that way sadly as there was loads of competition in the striking department.

Failed Loan Moves

Chuba had numerous loans away from Arsenal where he didn’t play as well as he could’ve done. His first loan away was to Brentford, where he made only 4 substitute appearances for them, which was like his next loan away to Coventry, where he made 4 appearances and scored 0 goals for them as well.

His next loan was to Nottingham Forest, where he made 7 appearances but again scored 0 goals, which was starting to become apparent in his games. His next loan was to Hull, where he started well, scoring on his debut in a 2-0 win against Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield. He would also keep up his fine form, coming off the bench in the league cup and scoring in extra time to take the game to penalties, where he would bag as they beat Accrington Stanley 4-3 on penalties. That would be the last of the goals for him until January, when he bagged his first senior hat-trick against Bury in the FA Cup. He had an okay season for the Tigers, where they were promoted to the Premier League after beating Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship playoff final.

His next loan was to promotion-pushers at the time, Brighton and Hove Albion, where he would make 10 appearances, guiding them to second place in the league and promotion to the Premier League. His next loan would be the last away from Arsenal, where he would join Belgian side Sint-Truiden, where he would average his best scoring campaign of his career so far, making 16 appearances and scoring six goals, his first against one of Belgium’s top sides in Anderlecht in a 2-1 victory.

Move to PAOK.

He left Arsenal after 16 years at the club to join the Greek side PAOK, which was the best move of his career as he started to fire on all cylinders. He was crucial to them winning their first Greek Super League in 34 years, and he would also score the only goal in their Greek Cup final win against AEK Athens.

His next season would be the best of his career, which started with a goal against former Champions League semi-finalists Ajax in a 2-2 draw. He would eventually finish with eight goals, which was his best scoring season of his career so far and earned him a move to Middlesbrough for £2.75 million.

Move to Middlesbrough

After showing fine form in Greece, he earned a move back to English football at championship club Middlesborough, where he started off well with a goal on his debut against QPR in a 1-1 draw, but that would be his only bright spark that season. After an unimpressive first season where he scored 5 goals for the Boro, he was sent back on loan to PAOK, where he found form again, scoring 7 goals for the Greek club in his second-best scoring season for them.

Late to preseason

Chuba started this season in the worst way possible as he was late for preseason, which made him fall out of favour as he was made to train with the under 23’s, which led to him maybe moving away from the northeast club, but he stayed put, which was the best decision he made. His relationship with the Boro fans wasn’t that good, but he soon built it over time. His first two games were promising as the fans started to warm to him, but the game against Sheffield United was where his relationship with the fans started to blossom as he scored two goals against them in a 2-2 draw, and from there he kicked on.

The goals soon dried up after that, as he only managed three more goals as Middlesbrough’s form fell off a cliff, which led to the sacking of Chris Wilder, and soon after, Michael Carrick was appointed.

Life under Michael Carrick

Michael Carrick came to steady the ship after Wilder’s poor form left them in the bottom, and he soon did that; however, it didn’t start well as his first game was a 2-1 loss to Preston North End, but they took a 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from Chuba Akpom, and this is where he found his form as he scored in his next 4 championship games, making it his best goal-scoring campaign of his career.

He started off under Carrick as a striker with a partnership with Forss, but he soon dropped back to playing in a number 10 role, where he has taken his game to another level, scoring goals for fun and netting a hat trick against Wigan Athletic, his first in the championship.

He is currently on 28 goals for the season, which is mental for a guy who has been struggling to score goals for most of his career, but under Michael Carrick it has seemed to work as they have built a strong relationship with each other, and it seems to be showing on the pitch as well.

Linked to Premier League clubs

His fine form was going to gather interest from a few clubs, but one club that seems interested in the player is South London side Crystal Palace, who are known for doing business in the championship after signing Eze and Olise from championship clubs after good performances for QPR and Reading.

I feel it would be a risk signing the 27-year-old after one good season at club level, but his eye for goal and his work would be good for a Premier League side, and he is good depth if they need it as he adds something different as he can play in a number 10 role and upfront, which would provide a bit of versatility for anyone who wants to get him.

If Middlesbrough don’t win the playoffs, you could see him maybe going for a cheaper price, but if Boro get promoted, he is more likely to stay and play for them in the Premier League and will hopefully capture his form, which led him to pick championship player of the year.

Relationship with Michael Carrick

In one of Chuba’s interviews, he said Michael Carrick was the manager he’s been dreaming of his whole career, which you can see as Carrick installed so much confidence into the attacker, deploying him into the number 10 role, which allows him to receive the ball at his feet and influence play in that way. It seemed to have paid off, and his career is now starting to turn out amazing as he’s enjoying football and playing with a smile on his face.

Carrick is one of the best up-and-coming managers in the game so far, as his calm manner and amazing man management skills have brought confidence to his side and changed them from a team who were fighting relegation under Wilder to now a team who are in the playoffs and a few games away from potentially being a Premier League side again.

How Akpom Never Gave Up

Chuba had a rocky career, but one thing he never did was give up, even when he was out of favour under two managers at Middlesbrough. One thing he never did was moan. He worked hard even though he was sent to the under 21’s at the start of the season as he was out of favour under Wilder. However, this was the motivation he needed at the time as he set targets whilst training with the under 21’s and kept them in a diary. His schedule became ridged in the summer as Uche Ikpeazu and Grant Hall were the three senior players playing in the under 21’s.

He moved in temporarily at the time with Uche, where they would do drills on the weekends as they had them off. This would help them to keep fit. Chuba would also travel back to London for one-on-one coaching with friend Michal Pindy, which helped keep him fit and working to get back in the Middlesbrough squad, which soon paid off.

Chuba’s story is inspiring to people who feel like it’s not clicking and that there have been hard knocks, but if you keep your head down and keep working hard to get to your full potential, you will greet the rewards at the end of the day. Chuba started off the season training with the under-21 squad and was almost out the door to being the championship player of the year, scoring 28 goals and getting linked with a Premier League move.

His career was falling off a cliff, but he’s managed to save it and turn a new leaf for himself, and his story can inspire other players and people who are falling out of love with the game and are struggling to click in a team, as he was just like them, but he kept his head up and worked so hard, and now he’s enjoying football and playing with a huge smile on his face.