Birmingham City have completed the signing of Chuba Akpom from Ajax on an initial loan with an obligation to buy if the club secures promotion to the Premier League at the end of the 2025/26 season.
Akpom, 30, arrives after a two-year spell with Ajax and a brief loan stint at Lille. Despite inconsistencies abroad, the striker remains a proven threat at Championship level, and Birmingham believe he can play a key role in their promotion push under Chris Davies.
Sky Sports previously reported the deal structure would allow Blues to loan Akpom for the 2025/26 campaign, with a mandatory purchase clause triggered upon promotion. The financial terms are undisclosed but are expected to be significantly lower than the £12.2 million Ajax originally paid to Middlesbrough in 2023.
The move bolsters Birmingham’s attacking options following the departure of Alfie May. Akpom will compete for minutes alongside Jay Stansfield and summer signing Kyogo Furuhashi, giving Davies three distinctly different profiles to lead the line.
Davies gets his man
Chris Davies has already added eight new players this summer, but club insiders felt another goalscorer was essential to maintain consistency throughout the season. With Akpom now through the door, Birmingham’s forward line looks balanced, experienced, and capable of handling the pressure of a promotion campaign.
Akpom, a product of the Arsenal academy, initially struggled during loan spells at Hull and Brighton. However, a permanent move to Middlesbrough in 2020 saw him develop into a reliable finisher. His standout campaign came in 2022/23, when he scored 28 goals in 38 Championship games, earning the Championship Golden Boot and a high-profile switch to Ajax.
Ready to return
Akpom found minutes hard to come by in the Eredivisie, but he still managed 8 goals and 2 assists for Ajax last season across all competitions, before scoring 3 more during a loan at Lille. The hope at St Andrew’s is that a return to English football can reignite the kind of form that made him a standout performer two seasons ago.
The club have taken a cautious but ambitious approach, mirroring the structure used in the Tommy Doyle deal — another loan with a promotion-triggered obligation to buy. It’s a sign of clear planning and growing confidence in Birmingham’s promotion ambitions.
📊 Key FotMob Stats – 2024/25 (All Competitions):
• Appearances: 46
• Goals: 11
• Assists: 3
• Minutes played: 2,278
• Starts: 24
• Average match rating: 6.74
• Percentile rank among Championship-equivalent forwards:
• 78th for goals scored
• 65th for shot accuracy
• 72nd for xG per 90
• 68th for touches in opposition box
🟦 ZONE CONFIRMED
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