'A good player' – Birmingham City coach responds to reports linking Ipswich-bound Akpom to the club

Birmingham City head coach Chris Davies has responded to swirling rumours linking Ajax striker Chuba Akpom with a move to the Championship side, following reports that Ipswich Town have hijacked the proposed deal.

Akpom was strongly tipped to join the Blues on loan after Birmingham reportedly reached an agreement with Dutch giants Ajax.

However, Ipswich Town are now believed to be closing in on a deal for the former Arsenal forward, disrupting Birmingham’s transfer plans just days before their Championship opener against Ipswich.

Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Davies addressed the speculation, acknowledging Akpom’s quality but declining to comment in detail out of respect for Ajax.

"With Chuba Akpom in particular, I am aware there has been a lot of talk around him,” Davies said. 

"From our point of view, he’s a player we know, a good player absolutely, but not someone I can go into specifics on because he’s an Ajax player right now.”

He continued, “All I can say is there’s always a lot of moving parts when you're looking to bring players in. Is it a player that you want? Is it going to work, and will it all be right? You look at everything.”

Davies was firm in his approach, making it clear that the club has a defined recruitment plan and will not dwell on targets who are unavailable.

"I wouldn’t want to go into specifics out of respect to Ajax, who own the player,” he added. 

"We’re clear on what we’re doing. I don’t want to sit here and talk about players that don’t belong to us.

"We’ve been pretty clear all along about the players that we really want, and that hasn’t wavered for me."

Akpom, who struggled for consistency in the 2024/25 season across stints in the Eredivisie and Ligue 1, will be hoping to reignite his career back in England. 

If the deal with Ipswich goes through, it would mark his return to English football after a two-year spell abroad.

Adeyemi Adewale

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