Chuba Akpom: Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick not given up on striker staying
- Published
Chuba Akpom has not featured for Middlesbrough this season because of injury and speculation around his future
Boss Michael Carrick has not completely ruled out the prospect of striker Chuba Akpom remaining a Middlesbrough player, despite confirming bids had been made for last season's top scorer.
French club Lens and Dutch outfit Ajax are reported suitors for the forward, who netted 29 goals last season.
Akpom, 27, has previously played in England, Belgium and Greece.
"Nothing's done yet, so you never know in football," Carrick told BBC Radio Tees after Saturday's loss to Coventry.
"We'll have to wait and see what happens, whatever situation is thrown at us, we'll have to make the best of it.
"We'll keep trying to do that for rest of the window."
The absence of Akpom has been keenly felt by Boro, for whom he played a key role in getting to the play-offs last year.
Also gone are loanees such as Ryan Giles, who opted for Luton, and Cameron Archer who is back at Aston Villa and whom played a vital role in Boro's forward options.
Although the Teessiders have a win to their name with victory over Huddersfield in the EFL Cup, they have lost both league games so far against Millwall and the Sky Blues.
"It's early in the season and we're not getting too carried away with things," Carrick added.
"There's a long way to go, a lot of work to be done, improvements to be made and there's a lot of games and points to play for.
"We're aware of that, we need balance. You have to get angry and disappointed at times, understand it's not been good enough but likewise the season is where it is and we're looking to improve and sharpen up as the weeks go on."