Nine stars seeking a piece of the Ak-tion
CHUBA Akpom’s remarkable season at Middlesbrough can serve as a lesson – that no player should ever be written off until their time at the club is officially over.
Akpom was sent to train with the under-23s when returning from loan last summer and looked certain to be leaving the club.
With a lack of breakthroughs in the transfer window, however, the 27-year-old was offered a shot at redemption and took it with both hands, finishing the season with 29 goals and winning the club and league Player of the Year awards as well as the golden boot.
His story can serve as inspiration to a host of Boro players this summer who will hope to work their way back into Michael Carrick’s plans.
The second-choice goalkeeper did not play a minute under Carrick due to the importance of Zack Steffen in playing the style the Boro head coach wanted.
Boro are most likely to seek a new goalkeeper but also have Sol Brynn returning from an impressive loan spell at Swindon Town.
Roberts will likely be the most senior goalkeeper at the club for the start of pre-season but will need to have improved his distribution considerably if he is to be the club’s long-term number one.
There were times in the second half of last season when Dijksteel struggled to even make the bench, Tommy Smith preferred at rightback and Carrick only naming two defenders as substitutes.
Two appearances towards the end of the season served as a reminder of what the Suriname international is capable of but he will surely want to be more than just a back-up option.
Clarke managed just six appearances for Boro last season before a back issue ended his season completely. He has become somewhat of a forgotten man at Boro as a result – but it should not be forgotten he won the player of the year award in four of his last five seasons at three different clubs before arriving.
While most players started summer holidays, Clarke was still at Rockliffe more than a week later, training with club medical staff – showing his own desire to work his way back to fitness.
Sent on loan to Aberdeen last summer, it was due to take him up to the end of his Boro contract and therefore seemingly spelled the end of his time at the club.
Having impressed on loan at Aberdeen, the 24-year-old could also benefit from Carrick’s arrival and the change in style under him which better suits his attacking style.
Signing a new contract before his return, Coulson will now have a chance to work his way back into Boro’s plans.
Another who did not feature nearly half as much as he would have liked under Carrick, with loanee Ryan Giles a regular at left-back.
Boro’s tactics saw the left-back afforded plenty of freedom to attack, the more defensive-minded Tommy Smith offering balance on the opposite side.
As such, the style did not suit Bola’s game as much and he struggled to make much of an impression in quite the same way Giles did in the limited opportunities he did get.
With Coulson returning and a leftback surely on the list for the summer it leaves Bola facing an uncertain future.
Injured when Carrick first arrived, Crooks has still been a valued member of Carrick’s squad but never the regular starter he was under Chris Wilder, while he has largely had to make do with appearances as a striker. With Alex Mowatt leaving, could Crooks use the summer to reestablish himself in a more natural midfield role, or increase his involvement by developing as a striker?
Jones’s struggles this season have been well-documented and while he was still some way short of his blistering best of last season it was at least nice to see the young starlet back playing regularly towards the end of the season.
Said to be part of Carrick’s plans, it is a big summer for Jones as he looks to get back to his best.
Hoppe arrived with much hope last summer but struggled to make an immediate impact on Teesside before heading to Hibernian for the second half of the season.
While he did not set the world alight in Scotland, he will hope the experience serves him well to come back to Teesside and use pre-season to show what he is capable of.
Payero’s loan spell at Boca Juniors is over in July, at which point the Argentine giants have an option to buy.
Should they decide against that, the midfielder will return to Boro, but only after a short break.
That would make Payero’s reintegration even more difficult but Carrick seems the kind of head coach willing to offer opportunities if earned and what a story it would be if he did return to Teesside and prove himself the player Boro hoped they were getting 24 months ago.