Kieran McKenna makes Birmingham City admission as Ipswich win Chuba Akpom race

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The fight to secure the services of Ajax’s former Middlesbrough talisman Chuba Akpom added an extra fistful of spice to an already tasty dish as Birmingham City and Ipswich Town prepare to face off in Friday’s Championship opener.

Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys trundle over to St Andrews. Two pre-season promotion favourites – despite both clubs being two divisions apart this time last year – looking to burst out of the blocks in style.

Now, Birmingham City and Ipswich Town are not only going head-to-head for three points this week.

Birmingham and Ipswich were battling for Chuba Akpom, too. A battle in which the team from East Anglia appear to have landed the knockout blow.

EFL Analysis can confirm, via football correspondent Graeme Bailey, that Akpom is bound for Ipswich. Olympiakos and former employers Middlesbrough miss out too.

McKenna’s squad already looks like a ‘who’s who’ of Championship titans. And the reported £7 million arrival of Akpom – the division’s Golden Boot winner in 2023 – will only strengthen the argument of those who have tipped Ipswich for an immediate return to the Premier League.

Kieran McKenna not surprised Birmingham City wanted Ipswich Town-bound Chuba Akpom

Time is not on Ipswich’s side, however, when it comes to registering Akpom in time for Friday’s clash in the Second City.

The paperwork would have to be completed by midday on Thursday for the Arsenal academy graduate to be part of McKenna’s roster at St Andrews.

“I think it’s getting really close, to be honest,” McKenna told reporters during a pre-match press conference. “Even taking out deadlines for transfers, there’s also the shortage of time they’d get with the group.

“We’ve got one more very short session in the morning and we’ll be travelling to Birmingham at [Thursday] lunchtime. It’s getting relatively close to the point of where someone could be integrated. So my plans at the moment are just getting ready with the players that we have fit and available.”

When pressed further on Akpom – the late-blooming 29-year-old is set to leave Ajax after only 14 Eredivisie goals in 42 games – McKenna is not surprised to learn that Birmingham were also hot on his heels.

“I think pretty much any player that we would be looking at, then other clubs who want to be at the top end of the Championship will be looking at too,” McKenna explains. “Because there’s only a certain pool of talented players out there who can help clubs achieve their goals.

“So any player who is available in the markets can have multiple clubs interested.

“Certainly from our point of view, it would never be about who our next opponent is or who the next game is. We only ever bring someone to the club if we think it will be of benefit over the longer-term.”

Chris Davies speaks out as ex-Middlesbrough star nears Championship return

Akpom scored a staggering 28 goals for Middlesbrough in the 2022/23 season. Michael Carrick coaxed a career-best return out of the versatile frontman by utilising him as a roving number ten, rather than restricting his movement to within the width of the penalty area.

McKenna may have a similar space for Akpom in his Ipswich attack, given that Conor Chaplin was so instrumental in such a role during the Tractor Boys’ promotion campaign just over a year ago.

Akpom’s likely arrival is a timely boost after Ipswich missed out on Marc Guiu to Sunderland.

Ivan Azon of Como was under consideration too, though Valencia appears to be the Spain Under-21 international’s first-choice destination.

“With Chuba Akpom, I am aware there has been a lot of talk around him,” McKenna’s opposite number, former Celtic assistant Davies, said during his own presser.

“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.

“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.

We’re looking to add to the squad, definitely. We need to add a few more players, there’s no doubt about that, and I’m sure a few more might go out between now and the end of the window.

“I wouldn’t want to go into specifics out of respect to Ajax, who own the player. We’re clear on what we’re doing.”