Akpom: PAOK sign Middlesbrough forward for second stint

PAOK have announced the return of Chuba Akpom on loan from Championship club Middlesbrough until the end of the 2021-22 season.

The 25-year-old spent two full seasons with White-Blacks between 2018 and 2020, and he enjoyed his best goalscoring form in Greece with 14 goals in 53 league appearances.

His huge impression earned him a move to Middlesbrough in September 2020 but he appears to have dropped in the pecking order at the Riverside Stadium having played just 19 minutes of football this season.

Akpom will be looking to enjoy another success at PAOK after he played a crucial role in ending their 34-year wait for the Greek top-flight crown in the 2018-2019 campaign.

“Boro striker Chuba Akpom has returned to Greece to link up with his former club PAOK on loan until the end of the season,” the Championship club announced.

“The 25-year-old joined Boro from the Greek Super League club 12 months ago and made an immediate impact, scoring twice in his first two games. He has totaled five in 40 appearances since arriving on Teesside and has figured just once this season.

“Chuba is returning to the club where he enjoyed the most successful period of his career – netting 18 goals in 79 appearances and playing a central role in PAOK’s first league title success for 34 years.

“The former Arsenal youngster was also a cup winner in Greece and helped PAOK to the brink of Champions League qualification.”

The 25-year-old started his career at Arsenal as a six-year-old boy and developed through their youth ranks before making his first-team debut in a Premier League match against Sunderland in September 2013.

In his quest for regular first-team action, the Anglo-Nigerian was loaned to Brentford, Coventry City, Nottingham Forest, Hull City, Brighton & Hove Albion and Sint-Truiden before he eventually left the Emirates Stadium permanently for PAOK in 2018.