Middlesbrough remain the winners from £12m deal with Dutch club: View | OneFootball

Chuba Akpom was electric for Boro, but has struggled since leaving for Ajax.

Middlesbrough have gone through a renaissance in the last few years, and have been competing in the top eight of the Championship in each of the previous three seasons.

Under the guidance of Michael Carrick, Boro have mounted two solid charges for the play-offs, finishing fourth in the table in 2022/23.

In both of those seasons, the team has been led up from the front by two extremely prolific strikers, with the first of those two moving on following his side's failure to win promotion.

Chuba Akpom had a fantastic campaign at the Riverside Stadium in 2022-23, and his goals were crucial to the club's success - despite a failure to prove himself in the years prior.

However, it has not been the easiest of times for the striker since leaving Teesside last summer.

Chuba Akpom has struggled to replicate Middlesbrough form at Ajax

Although the 28-year-old was extremely deadly in his final season with Boro, his first year at the club was not the easiest, and he was loaned back to Greek club PAOK for the 2021/22 campaign.

Nevertheless, when he returned it was clear to everybody that he had improved greatly.

Akpom scored twice in just his third game of the season, and after a slight break due to injury, he came back into the starting XI with a keen eye for goal.

He found the back of the net 11 times in 15 matches, including a hat-trick against Wigan Athletic on Boxing Day 2022.

Akpom's movement speed and finishing were near-perfect for Middlesbrough in 2022/23, and it was this form that won him a move to Ajax in the Netherlands.

The former Arsenal striker had scored 28 goals in 35 Championship games before his sale for €12.3 million, having come into the last year of his contract at the Riverside Stadium.

Yet, since that move, he has lacked form, and has not been given the game-time that he may have believed he would have been given.

Ajax have had a difficult couple of years, and have fallen far away from their usual standards. This has had a negative impact on Akpom, who has not been allowed the consistency that is normally found by the Dutch giants.

The 28-year-old has still utilised his predatory instincts, picking up 18 goals in 44 games so far, but has failed to recapture the same form that saw him light up Teesside, with the lack of starts he's had since moving to Holland being the main sticking point.

Middlesbrough managed to use the Chuba Akpom money to great effect

There may have been worries following the sale of Akpom over where Middlesbrough's goals were going to come from.

But, there should not have been any worries, as Carrick brought Emmanuel Latte Lath to the club on a four-year contract in the summer of 2023.

The Ivory Coast international scored 18 times in his first season in the north east in all competitions, with his movement behind defenders extremely similar to that of their previous number 29.

Perhaps not as prolific, Latte Lath is four years younger than Akpom, and will only improve as time progresses.

He has already struck home his first goal in 2024/25, dispatching from the penalty spot in the opening weekend of the season against Swansea City in a 1-0 win.

If Latte Lath can continue this form, then supporters may soon forget about their former striker, who will be hoping to get out of the rut he has found himself in playing in the Netherlands.