Micheal Carrick heaps praise on Chuba Akpom after brace against Reading

By Saheed Afolabi

Chuba Akpom has earned massive praises from Middlesbrough manager, Micheal Carrick after banging in a brace in the 5-0 battering of Reading on Saturday night.

The former Arsenal player has now registered 21 goals this season in 28 appearances, thereby making him the second player after Bernie Slaven in 1989/1990 to reach the 20-goal mark for Boro.

The Middlesbrough manager, has described Akpom as a team player who understands his teammates, stressing that the Nigerian-eligible star is having an incredible season at the club.

“It’s just being a team player, credit to him for that. Not many would have done that, but he understands it’s about the squad, all the boys being in a good frame of mind,” Carrick told the club website.

“His first penalty was a good one and it would have been easy for him to grab it but he understands how grateful Marcus was to have a chance to score.

“It’s been an incredible season for Akpom, who looked destined to leave the club in the summer. It’s a terrific achievement. It’s not easy to score that many goals. He’s scored all different type of goals for us since I’ve been here.

“I thought his performance was fantastic. He gets credit for his goals but his performance all-round was terrific.

“And because we have threats in different areas, he ends up getting a bit more space. To score that many goals, hopefully he can carry on and set a new target for himself.”

A trip to Wales will see Middlesbrough face Cardiff City in their next game on Saturday 11th of March 2023 and Boro seat on the third position on the Sky Bet Championship with 60 points from 35 matches.