By Wale Mustapha
Dutch giants Ajax are reportedly ready to part ways with Nigerian striker Chuba Akpom during the current January transfer window. According to Nigeriafootball.ng,
Akpom is among several players—alongside Benjamin Tahirovic, Owen Wijndal, and Branco van den Boomen—that Ajax is open to selling in an effort to ease financial constraints.
Ajax’s Technical Director, Alex Kroes, revealed that the club is facing financial challenges, leaving them with limited funds to operate in the transfer market.
However, Kroes remains hopeful of completing a deal for Real Valladolid attacker Raúl Moro, with negotiations reportedly ongoing.
Akpom, who joined Ajax from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2023, has struggled to find his form this season, contributing just three goals in 14 league appearances and failing to score in his last nine league matches.
Despite these struggles, Akpom has been a key player for the Eredivisie side since his arrival, making 63 appearances, scoring 22 goals, and providing four assists.
While Ajax’s preference is to sell the four players, interest so far has been limited to loan offers.
As a result, Kroes is exploring alternative options, including loan deals with a mandatory purchase option or even multi-season rentals.
Akpom has been linked with potential moves to Germany and a return to England, but his future remains uncertain as Ajax looks to offload him and other players in the coming weeks.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
