We all know that Alex Neil is looking on the market for a striker to loan until the end of the season mainly due to Lewis Grabban’s injury. Currently we only have 2 recognised first team strikers in the form of Cameron Jerome and Gary Hooper. Of course the previously named players have substantial quality to carry us over the line but we know too well how injuries can hit quickly.
It seems after a lot of searching Alex Neil may have come up with his Lewis Grabban replacement though – Chuba Akpom.
Akpom is a highly rated 19 year old striker who some have compared to the next Thierry Henry, bold I know. I have to admit I don’t know much about this young starlet so I talked to some Arsenal fans to see what they had to say.
‘Chuba Akpom has been the main goalscoring threat for the Under 21s for the last couple of seasons and despite only making an handful of first-team appearances, he looks ready for some senior football. He is a great goalscorer with skill and directness but his main attribute is his pace, on and off the ball he can run and defenders won’t catch, he can stretch defensive back-lines which can hurt any opposition defence. I think a loan move is just what he needs, to play some senior football for a side who are challenging for promotion is going to be great experience for him and with Ignasi Miquel at the club, he’ll settle in right away. With players like Hoolahan, Johnson and Redmond at the club, there won’t be any shortage of service so I expect he’ll score some goals given he is played down the middle’. – Alex Burns , News Writer For TheHighburyClock, T2T and TCZ.
After talking to Alex is seems that Akpom is exactly what we need. It’s fair to say that Jerome has startling pace but sometimes lacks in movement and finds himself far too static on too many occasions. Lewis Grabban was fantastic at opening up space for the Norwich front line and it seems Akpom would be capable of that.
‘Akpom possesses genuine potential star quality, and utilises his power when striking the ball. His strength and physicality allow him to power through defences, and gives him an edge in the air’. – Dean Ammi, French Focus admin & PL Post writer.
After speaking to Alex I also caught up with Dean who backed up all of the points that I had already heard. The fact that Arsenal fans rate him so highly excites me greatly and it seems like his power and movement would add an extra ingredient to an already tasty attacking line.
Of course we only have until Thursday to wrap the Akpom deal up and Nottingham Forest are also linked with the Arsenal youngster, but I wouldn’t put it past our board to get this deal done soon.
Do you want to sign Chuba Akptom? Let us know in the comment section or tweet us @TheCarrowCrowd
