'Akpom has done well' - 1988 Euro winner advises Ajax not to sign Burnley striker 

1988 European Championship-winning striker with the Netherlands, Wim Kieft has cautioned his former club Ajax Amsterdam against signing Burnley forward Wout Weghorst.

It has been suggested that the Eredivisie giants are open to the sale of the Super Eagles hopeful to make room for the arrival of the 32-year-old forward.

Akpom is angling for a move away from Ajax due to a lack of first team opportunities, having made only eleven starts from a possible 43 in all competitions last season, logging 1,519 minutes.

Statistically speaking, the 2022-2023 Championship Golden Boot winner demonstrated he has not lost his goalscoring touch after bagging 15 goals in 36 matches in his first season in the Netherlands. 

In the new season, the Hale End Academy graduate has started all the five matches played by Ajax because the club's main striker Brian Brobbey missed a large part of pre-season preparations due to his involvement in the 2024 European Championship.

Kieft underlined that Akpom is the ideal player to serve as backup to Brobbey and won't feel frustrated if he's not named in the starting lineup.

Writing in his column for Telegraaf (subscription required), he said: "They already have the ideal second striker in him.

"Akpom is also not someone who will cause a stir if trainer Francesco Farioli keeps him on the bench.

"The underlying idea to get Weghorst when you have Brian Brobbey and Chuba Akpom is not clear. Akpom has done well as Brobbey's stand-in so far. 

"He is aggressive in the penalty area and often manages to get in front of his man. Only he has some bad luck in finishing."

Kieft added: "Someone like Weghorst won't settle for a place on the second plan. 

"Because you don't see Brobbey and Weghorst playing together very quickly, you can foresee problems with those two together in the selection fighting for one place in the point of attack."

Akpom joined Ajax Amsterdam from  Middlesbrough last summer for a fee of 12.3 million euros and his contract expires on June 30, 2028.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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