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By Johnny Edward
Middlesbrough coach, Michael Carrick, hopes Chuba Akpom signs a new long-term contract and commits his future to the club before the summer.
According to several reports, Boro are in negotiations with the Akpom, who currently tops the Championship goalscoring charts with 21 league goals for the season, over a new long-term contract.
It comes after Akpom became the first Boro player since Bernie Slaven in 1990 to net 20 league goals in a single league campaign for the club.
Akpom had been due to be out of contract at the end of the current season after signing a three-year deal with the club when he initially joined from PAOK back in the summer of 2020.
However, that deal also included a one-year extension option in the favour of Boro which Carrick had already previously revealed they’d taken up.
But heading towards a summer in which Akpom could end up being hot property thanks to his emphatic goalscoring under the Manchester United legend, it’s no surprise that Boro would want to extend that contract beyond the 12 months that will remain at the end of the season.
Asked about Akpom’s contract situation, Carrick said, “Sitting here, no there is nothing to update on right now. Listen, Chuba is obviously doing great for us and it’s something we are looking at between now and the end of the season. Not just Chuba but contracts for players moving ahead into the summer and next season. Individually though, there is no update to give you on Chuba.”
Asked if he had personally spoken to the striker about his contract situation, and if he would like the 27-year-old to sign a new long-term deal, the Boro head coach continued, “Yes. He’s done great, and we say this every week, but we’re always talking about him and for good reasons. He’s got a big part to play between now and the end of the season and we’re looking forward to seeing that between now and then.
“It depends (on conversations). I have a lot of conversations with players in different ways. There are plenty of things we have to sort out and organise to be ready for games. As and when, we’ll get things sorted.”