Whether Chuba Akpom will play for Ipswich Town vs. Preston is revealed by Kieran McKenna.
The Tractor Boys will note that their first two games have been quite difficult on paper, even though two points from the first two games is hardly promotion-winning form. In front of a boisterous and fervent home Second City crowd, they first headed to St. Andrew’s to play Birmingham City, where they drew 1-1 following a late penalty kick by George Hirst. They were then beaten to a 1-1 draw by Southampton at Portman Road last week following a humiliating penalty loss to League Two team Bromley in the Carabao Cup. Jay Robinson’s first senior strike negated Taylor Harwood-Bellis’ earlier disastrous own goal.
After a strong start to the season, Paul Heckingbottom’s team will undoubtedly be in high spirits when they play Preston North End tomorrow. Given the Chuba Akpom transfer scandal, that season’s first game held much more significance. After the two teams had met at St. Andrew’s, Ipswich confirmed the transfer, sabotaging Birmingham’s attempt to sign the former Middlesbrough striker during a crazy week of build-up. Although he has not been included in the Southampton or Bromley squads, manager Kieran McKenna has stated that he would be travelling with the team from Ipswich to Preston.
Even though it seems more likely that the versatile forward will start from the bench, Akpom will still be eligible to make his Tractor Boys debut tomorrow afternoon despite not being included in Ipswich’s matchday squad. “He’s trained with the group now for the last couple of days, so that’s the first time he’s trained full throttle with the group – that’s a step forward,” the man from Northern Ireland stated. “If everything goes according to plan, he will join us for Preston.” Hirst has led the line for the Tractor Boys so far this season and certainly looks unlikely to want to give up that role – certainly given his fired-up personality after the late penalty at Birmingham.
However, unlike Hirst, Akpom has a track record of scoring goals in the Championship. Three seasons ago, he scored 28 goals for Teesside. However, as McKenna hinted then, Hirst’s advantage is undoubtedly in match fitness and quickness. Akpom played in both the Eredivisie and Ligue 1 the previous season, but he was unable to score a goal or establish a reliable starting position at either Lille or Ajax, where he spent the second part of the season on loan.
Last season at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, he made 32 appearances in all competitions and scored eight goals, including three in the league and four in the UEFA Europa League. He only managed to score three goals for Lille at the Stade Pierre Mauroy, which isn’t the most impressive result considering that he played in 14 league games and one UEFA Champions League game for Les Dogues during the second half of the previous campaign.
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