‘It’s Insane’ – Ajax Under Spotlight As Birmingham City Chuba Akpom Deal Detail Emerges | OneFootball

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Birmingham City are covering 60 per cent of Chuba Akpom’s Ajax salary during his loan at the club, as the Amsterdam count the cost of a contractual agreement dubbed ‘insane’.

Blues recently agreed a deal with Ajax to take Akpom on loan for the season, with the switch also containing an obligation to buy in the event that they win promotion up to the Premier League this season.

Fellow Championship side Middlesbrough tried to hijack the swoop, but Birmingham look to have seen them off.

Birmingham will pay 60 per cent of Akpom’s salary during the loan period, with Ajax covering the rest.

Akpom has entered the third season of his contract at Ajax and his currently yearly wage at the Dutch side is a substantial €5m.

Paying Akpom €5m a year in his third season at the club was an ‘insane’ decision in the view of Dutch journalist Mike Verweij, with former sporting director Sven Mislintat and the Ajax board in the firing line.

He wrote on X: “By the way, it’s insane that Sven Mislintat offered Akpom (in his third contract year) a salary of €5m.

“Birmingham City are covering 60 per cent of it.

“The supervisory board of Ajax stood by and watched.”

Akpom will undergo his medical checks with Birmingham later today, as he seeks to put the finishing touches to a return to England.

If Blues go up to the Premier League, they will have to sign the striker for a fee of €8m and if they then survive in the top flight, they will have to pay Ajax a further €2m.

Ajax have been keen to offload Akpom for some time and he was loaned to French side Lille for the second half of last season along with a purchase option, which the Ligue 1 outfit did not use.