Former Arsenal man in the middle of messy transfer saga

Former Arsenal academy graduate finds himself at the centre of an incredible transfer saga, as season draws near.

Former Arsenal striker, Chuba Akpom is subject to a transfer tug-of-war, with three teams having entered the race to secure his signature from Ajax in the last days.

Intially, when Ajax technical director Alex Kroes banished Akpom from the first-team to force a transfer, little interest materialised, until the start of August.

Birmingham City initially agreed a season-long loan deal with Ajax, including an obligation to buy for £7 million should they secure back-to-back promotions, and land themselves in the Premier League. Akpom was scheduled for a medical at Birmingham’s Henley-in-Arden training base on Monday, with a move now looking straightforward.

However, before the medical was conducted, former club Middlesbrough attempted to hijack the transfer, hoping to reunite with the striker who scored 28 goals in 40 Championship appearances during their remarkable 2022/23 campaign. Though their bid ultimately proved unsuccessful, with Ajax preferring the finances involved in their deal with Birmingham.

Despite this, the medical with The Blues was cancelled after Ipswich Town entered the fray with a matching offer. The former Premier League side agreed a loan deal with an obligation to buy the Englishman for £6 million, the same terms that were agreed with Birmingham on Sunday, and the striker has now completed his medical Kieran McKenna’s side, and remains in Suffolk.

However, Sky Sports have revealed that Ajax are now putting pressure on Akpom to sign for Birmingham, who are looking to complete back-to-back promotions, due to their desire to do a permanent deal, with the clubs now in negotiations over a £6 million permanent move.

Birmingham City and Ipswich Town face each other in the Championship’s opening fixture on Friday night at St Andrew’s, with it currently being unknown if the situation will be resolved by then.