Former Arsenal star opens up on ‘catastrophic’ time in brutally honest interview following shock transfer to Euro giants
CHUBA AKPOM has opened up about the start of his Ajax career, which he has labelled as a “catastrophe”.
The former Arsenal striker joined the Dutch giants in the summer in a shock £10.5million transfer from Middlesbrough.
Akpom, 28, has not enjoyed the best start to life at his new club.
Ajax currently sit 11th in the Eredivisie after losing five of their first ten games of the league season.
The poor form had seen the side drop all the way to the bottom of the league at one point.
The club has started to rebuild their season in recent weeks with back-to-back wins.
Akpom has played his role in the victories scoring three goals off of the bench.
After the game against Heereveen, Akpom opened up on his time in Holland so far.
He admitted to not being settled at the club.
He told ESPN: “It’s been a catastrophe, personally and for the team.
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“I haven’t felt settled for two months, it’s only this week that I’ve felt settled.
“I’ve been in a hotel by myself, I’ve not been playing and I feel like I’ve been alone here, but this week I feel back to my normal self.”
Akpom’s upturn in form has come with the change of manager.
Maurice Steijn was sacked as manager in October and replaced by John Van ‘t Schip.
Akpom has praised his new boss for helping improve his mood by speaking to him about his life and not just football.
He added: “The manager came and spoke to me straight away, on a human level not a football level.
“He asked how I am, how my family is.
“We’re footballers but we’re human beings firstly and I really appreciated that little chat with the manager and the assistant.
“But, it’s been really tough for me.
“I try to stay professional and keep working, but a new country, new environment, new team, in a hotel – it’s really a struggle.”
Expectations were high for Akpom following his switch from Boro as he was coming off the back of an exceptional season in the Championship.
The strike finished the season as the league’s top scorer having netted 28 goals in 38 appearances.
Akpom graduated from Arsenal‘s academy and made 12 appearances for their first team before joining Greek side PAOK in 2020.
During his Gunners stint, he had loan spells at Brentford, Coventry, Nottingham Forest, Hull, Brighton and Sint-Truidense V.V..
Following two years in Greece, he signed for Middlesbrough in 2020.