That’s according to Algemeen Dagblad, who cover the player and his hopes moving forwards after a tough time for the player.

They explain Akpom recently created a new record as he bagged another goal from the bench, becoming the first player for the club to score as a substitute in three straight games.

He appears to have found his feet and is now ‘running at full speed’ after failing to score in his first two months and struggling under former manager Maurice Steijn, something he admitted publically.

Many had written him off but he’s now managed four goals in 50 minutes of action and finds himself battling back and looking to repeat what he did at Middlesbrough.

A year ago, he had returned there from PAOK Saloniki and was told to train with the youngsters as the club didn’t want him and were keen on a transfer, but a need for strikers saw him bounce back and become a key player under Michael Carrick.

He eventually ended the season with 29 goals and two assists in 42 games in all competitions, leading Ajax to spend €12.3m to get him from Middlesbrough.

He’s now hoping to bounce back in the Netherlands and repeat that experience, insisting the sky is the limit as far as he’s concerned.

“This feeling reminds me of last season,” he said.

“But I also know I have not even shown fifty percent of my potential yet. I am warming up and I am sure that I can be a success for Ajax.

“Only take control of what you can control. That’s how I’ve done it my entire career. If you don’t do that, you waste time and you get distracted.

“Once the decision is made, I immediately try to find solutions. How am I going to make an impact when I get on the field?”

“I now think and know: The sky is the limit. If you score ten times, you can also score twenty times. I just have to keep going. Then the goals keep coming.”

The post ”Sky is the limit” – Player recovering after Middlesbrough ostracised him for transfer appeared first on Sport Witness.

So as Marca today features a long interview to talk about the coach’s ten years on the job, they obviously had many mentions of Boro.

Karanka started by recalling the way he acted once he took charge of Middlesbrough, aiming big things in his first season and drawing huge responsability on his job.

“I remember I gave my first press conference in the English I was speaking at the time and my wife called me crazy. I told her I was even crazier because I had said my aim was to get a team into the Premiership that, at the time, was 3-4 points from relegation to League One. I don’t regret it because in the end it was achieved, but I wouldn’t do it again because I put too much pressure on myself. It was a mistake that came from inexperience”,” said Karanka.

“The club made a very strong commitment to me. I felt they were backing me even though I had no experience as a head coach. I remember after the fifth game, the owner called me and I thought, ‘This is as far as my first coaching experience goes’. But that day I understood what Steve Gibson is as a person and as a manager. He said, ‘You think I’m going to fire you? You don’t believe that yourself. We brought you in to get you to the Premiership and we’re going to get you there’. I ended up having dinner with his family that day, which multiplied my commitment to the club even more.”

Karanka started his career at Spain’s U-16 squad, having then become José Mourinho’s assistant at Real Madrid.

It was at Middlesbrough that he started his career as a first team manager on the 13th of November 2013, starting a run at Riverside that ended in 80 wins, 40 draws and 49 losses in 169 games.

Karanka left Boro in March 2017. He then stayed in England for jobs at Nottingham Forest and Birmingham, and then left the country to work at Granada and Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Since quitting the Israeli side last summer, he’s been without at job, now at the age of 50.

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That, for Ajax, is unacceptable and there’s lots of drama flying around the club. Part of that relates to Sven Mislintat, the club’s football director, who it’s thought made the wrong decision appointing Maurice Steijn as manager and also with multiple transfers.

This is where Middlesbrough get a mention.

Ajax signed Chuba Akpom from Middlesbrough towards the end of the summer transfer window. They paid around €12m, with bonuses potentially adding another €2m for the Championship club down the line.

However, the 27-year-old hasn’t really had an impact so far this season and patience is already running out. Wednesday’s edition of AD claims ‘market experts’ believe Ajax should have paid Middlesbrough ‘at most half’ of the €12m they received.

That sounds like a bit of a tantrum, considering Akpom scored 29 goals for Michael Carrick’s side last season.

Nevertheless, ‘major questions’ are being asked about the purchase from Middlesbrough and also Mislintat’s wider transfer business.

The media around the Dutch club appears to be talking them into a crisis.

The post ‘Major questions’ being asked about Middlesbrough transfer – Player should have cost ‘at most half’ what Boro got appeared first on Sport Witness.

The 24-year-old’s deal expires in 2024 and after the Dutch club were relegated from the top division last season, his future at Cambuur was uncertain.

VI state the left-back has been wanting to leave his current employer and despite the lack of developments in recent days, his dream is about be fulfilled.

It’s claimed the talks between Middlesbrough and Cambuur are advanced, so much so that the player has been ‘given permission’ to travel to England to carry out the transfer formalities.

The Sierra Leone international is set to join Michale Carick’s side on a permanent deal and VI aren’t aware of the fee the English club will pay Cambuur.

Bangura had interest from Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 clubs but the report states he has always favoured a move to the Championship, where Boro will be his new club.

Operating as a left-back and at times as a left wing-back, Bangura managed a goal and four assists from 31 games last season.

The post Player ‘given permission’ to travel to join Middlesbrough – Carrick’s side in advanced talks for signing appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to journalist Gianluca di Marzio, who reports that the 24-year-old will sign for Middlesbrough on a four-year deal.

Boro are moving quickly to find a replacement for Chuba Akpom, who appears to be on the verge of a move to Dutch giants Ajax after a £12m agreement was struck earlier this week.

His eventual exit will leave a hole that needs to be filled in Michael Carrick’s forward line, the striker having managed 34 goals and four assists in 82 games for the Championship side since moving in a €3m deal in September 2020.

Latte Lath is the one Middlesbrough seemingly think can fill that gap and Di Marzio reports a deal has now been done in a €6.5m deal.

He reports that Lath ‘says goodbye’ to Atalanta, who he has been with since he was a youngster and is ‘ready to restart’ in the Championship with Middlesbrough.

He will depart the Italian club for €6.5m including bonuses and has already signed a four-year contract with the North East club ahead of the move, which is expected to be finalised ‘in the next few hours’.

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TuttoMercatoWeb writes that the 24-year-old is ready to move to England, as he’s set to fly in the ‘next few hours’.

The report says that Middlesbrough will pay Atalanta a fee of €5m, with a potential bonus if they get promoted to the Premier League.

Latte Lath is set to have his medical on Monday morning, and is ready to sign a four-year contract with the club.

The transfer comes up as quite surprising, not only because there hadn’t been many rumours about it, but also because the striker hadn’t played for Atalanta for a long time.

Despite coming from the club’s youth ranks, Latte Lath had loan spells at Pescara, Pistoiese, Carrarese, Imolese, Pianese, Pro Patria, SPAL and FC St. Gallen in the past few years.

It’s at the Swiss club that he spent last season, having 16 goals and four assists in 34 appearances.

That’s where he probably caught Middlesbrough’s attention, and now it’s time to prove himself in English football.

The post Player to have medical at Middlesbrough on Monday – €5m deal agreed appeared first on Sport Witness.

De Telegraaf writes that the Eredivisie side are looking for an ‘extra striker’ and have made the 27-year-old a target.

Ajax are currently working on other transfers, finalising the arrival of Josip Sutalo from Dinamo Zagreb, and it doesn’t sound like they are engaged in serious negotiations with Middlesbrough right now.

Akpom has already been linked to Premier League clubs, and given he’s now also drawing the interest from the Netherlands, it starts to seem like it’ll be hard for Boro to hold him for another season.

Middlesbrough signed the striker from PAOK back in 2020, but it was only last season that he really had a breakout campaign at the club. He had 29 goals in 42 appearances for Boro, playing both as an advanced midfielder and as a striker, and that was obviously more than enough to draw a big summer race for him.

Even though Transfermarkt only value Akpom at €12m, it’d be no surprise if Middlesbrough get a much bigger fee for his transfer.

The post Ajax join race for Middlesbrough player – Competition growing for summer deal appeared first on Sport Witness.

That’s according to Gianluca Di Marzio, who took to Twitter to reveal that the Ivorian is ‘close to signing’ at Riverside.

The journalist explains it would be a transfer, not a loan, and the 24-year-old would be signing a four-year contract with Middlesbrough, which would also include an option for an extra year.

For those who don’t know Latte Lath, and that would be entirely fair, the striker has spent most of his career out on loan to gain experience.

He has accumulated eight different spells with eight different clubs since 2017, but there is no denying his most prolific came last season when he was shipped off to St Gallen in Switzerland.

The Middlesbrough target found the back of the net 16 times in 34 games, and that will be what caught the eye of Michael Carrick’s scouting staff.

There is clearly hope he can repeat that at Riverside next season, and his ability to play across the front three will also add extra versatility to the team going forward.

.@Boro are close to signing forward Latte Lath from @Atalanta_BC on a permanent deal. 4-year contract + 1 year option. @SkySport

— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) August 9, 2023

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The striker was near unstoppable throughout the entire season at Riverside under Michael Carrick, as Boro finished 4th in the table but ultimately lost 1-0 to Coventry on aggregate in the playoffs.

This form from the Middlesbrough star has caught the eye of clubs around Europe, with Sacha Tavolieri claiming that two Ligue 1 sides are eyeing up the former England U21 international to replace their potential departing stars.

Lens are one of them, as they are eventually going to have to give in to the pressure of RB Leipzig, who keep increasing their offers for Lois Openda.

The second are Lille, who have ticked the Middlesbrough star’s name should they end up having to sell Jonathan David this summer once the striker domino effect kicks off.

With Lens set to play Champions League football next year, this could be an opportunity too big to pass for Akpom, and a lot will also depend on how much Michael Carrick’s side ask.

Then again, if they come knocking with the Openda money, it might too good to refuse for all parties involved.

🟡 Parmi les profils identifiés pour remplacer Loïs #Openda, les dirigeants du #RCLens ont mis l'oeil sur l'Anglais de #Middlesbrough, Chupa #Akpom.
Le buteur londonien figure aussi dans la liste des cibles potentielles du #LOSC en cas de départ de Jonathan #David.
… pic.twitter.com/8po4cB1RBy

— Sacha Tavolieri (@sachatavolieri) July 6, 2023

The post Two clubs eyeing up Middlesbrough star for summer transfer – One can offer him CL football appeared first on Sport Witness.

TNT Sports today features a story pointing out that it’s still unclear whether the South American giants will manage to keep the midfielder for longer.

The first issue is his contract with Middlesbrough, which expires in 2024. So even though Boca Juniors may be hopeful of extending the loan, Boro would need to protect themselves by renewing his deal before letting him leave on a new spell.

According to TNT, the Argentine club even have an option to make the transfer permanent for €6m. The problem is that is a considerable amount in that league, so it’s hard to imagine them spending that much.

Payero has had a positive start to the season at Boca Juniors, with four goals scored in only ten appearances, and that gives them the wish of keeping him for at least the rest of the year, with the story pointing out he became ‘important’ for the team.

It’s also pointed out that with potential promotion to the Premier League, Middlesbrough will soon figure out who should stay or leave their squad, and that’s when they’ll take a major decision on the 24-year-old’s future.

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