Town have confirmed the signing of Ajax striker Chuba Akpom on a season-long loan.

The news ends a week-long saga after the Blues nipped in to gazump Birmingham City, who were close to taking the 29-year-old on loan last Monday with a medical having been set for that afternoon.

Once Town had agreed a deal with the Dutch giants - reportedly paying 60 per cent of his wages with Birmingham having offered to cover only half - Akpom preferred the move to Suffolk and travelled for a medical that evening.

The Midlanders subsequently made another bid to try to sign him permanently but with the player digging his heels on joining the Blues with the details on the switch having been tied up over the last few days.

In addition to the season-long loan, the deal is understood to include an obligation to sign on a permanent basis next summer if Town win promotion for £7 million.

“I was really excited when I heard of the interest and I’m delighted to have joined a club with such big ambitions,” Akpom, who could make his Blues debut in the Carabao Cup at Bromley on Tuesday, told TownTV.

“I watch a lot of football and have always thought Ipswich would suit my style, so this move makes perfect sense.

“I have had lots of good experiences over the last few years, at Ajax and playing in the Champions League with Lille, and I feel like all of these have improved me as a player and helped me be the person I am now.

“I’m here to do as much as I can do to help the team, in the changing room and on the pitch, and I’ll bring a winning mentality here.”

Ajax technical director Alex Kroes said: “Chuba is a top professional and a hard worker. The temporary move to Ipswich Town FC offers him a great opportunity to show his qualities weekly.

“We hope that he can play an important role with his goals in their pursuit of promotion to the Premier League.

“We wish Chuba every success and fun in England – we continue to follow him with interest.”

As well as the Blues and Birmingham, Akpom’s former club Middlesbrough and Greek side Olympiacos also showed interest.

Newham-born Akpom came through the Gunners’ academy ranks and had spells on loan at Brentford, Coventry, Nottingham Forest, Hull City, Brighton and in Belgium with Sint-Truiden while a player at the Emirates.

Having made one senior start and 11 sub appearances, the 6ft tall frontman, who plays as a number 10 as well as an out-and-out striker, moved on to PAOK Salonika in Greece for £900,000 in August 2018.

After two years, he joined Boro for £2.75 million, netting 28 goals as he top scored in the Championship in 2022/23, before returning to PAOK on loan for 2021/22, then joining Ajax for an initial €12.3 million (£10.7 million), rising to €14.3 million (£12.4 million) with add-ons.

He spent the second half of last season on loan in Ligue 1 in France with Lille, who chose not to take up an option to sign him permanently at the end of his spell.

An England cap at U16, U17, U19, U20 and U21 levels, Akpom has scored 21 goals in 39 starts and 40 sub appearances for Ajax in all competitions and bagged three in six starts and nine games from the bench during his short spell with Lille.

For the Teessiders, he netted 34 goals in 59 starts and 23 games from the bench.

Photo: ITFC

bluesince76 added 21:43 - Aug 10 Excellent still need another striker as alhamadi not good enough things looking alot better now.
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HALLSJ added 21:43 - Aug 10 Couple of decent midfieldes now please
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Monkey_Blue added 21:45 - Aug 10 Good signing… can only improve the squad
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blueboy1981 added 21:54 - Aug 10 Had to be Good News, but no time for the normal ‘Hissy Fits’ when a player is signed. Lets wait and see how it hopefully all turns out. It has to be an improvement in chances from only one (penalty) shot on target on Friday. Welcome Chuba to Portman Road and much success. Stay Cool Kids !!
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Westy added 22:03 - Aug 10 Really looking forward to seeing this guy perform - anyone from Alax has got to have quality.
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Dissboyitfc added 22:03 - Aug 10 Really pleased with this news!
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ElGuaje4 added 22:03 - Aug 10 Finally… I could’ve sworn we were linked with him in 2015 but he instead signed for Forest on loan. Long time coming!
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Gforce added 22:10 - Aug 10 Excellent news, welcome aboard the hopefully long and winding promotion train,Chuba. Still can't work out why Lille decided not to take up the option to sign him permanently last season though? We are getting there,but we still require 2 more quality central midfielders (Taylor ,not good enough for a top end championship team) and a third decent striker.
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blueboy1981 added 22:13 - Aug 10 Prospects now start to look decidedly improved for a better season. Over to the Manager now, and hopefully positive results.
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Gforce added 22:36 - Aug 10 One more request Chuba, not asking for much,but please score a hat trick on 5th October and become a club legend in the process.
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Bert added 23:46 - Aug 10 Hallelujah. This is the sort of striker we need. Different attributes to Hirst . With these two up top and a trio of lively No.10’s behind we should be top scorers in this league.
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runaround added 00:08 - Aug 11 Welcome Chuba
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ipswichone added 00:11 - Aug 11 Made my day,onwards and upwards.up the town!
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armchaircritic59 added 00:24 - Aug 11 I'm not trying to pour cold water on the fire, but I do think it needs to be pointed out that it was 22/23 when Chuba scored his hatful of goals for Middlesborough, and he left them in August 23. I'm not saying he can't do something at least reasonably similar here, just pointing out that it was over two years ago. Having said all that, welcome to ITFC Chuba, and if there's one sentence in that interview that's sure to go down well with everyone it's " I'm here to do as much as I can do to help the team, in the changing room and on the pitch, and I'll bring a winning mentality here " Amen to all of that!

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shakytown added 00:26 - Aug 11 Welcome to Town chuba. Now we need a proper right back and a big strong midfielder or 2.
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muccletonjoe added 04:16 - Aug 11 Looks like he knows where the goal is.
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Maccaisgod added 04:42 - Aug 11 Welcome Mr Akpom, looks a proper handful.
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JewellintheTown added 05:42 - Aug 11 Great news, but 'finally!" feels appropriate. Hope he lives up to all the effort that was put in to getting him here. Knowing our luck, he'll be out to impress on Tuesday & get a season long on jury! Obviously hope not. On paper, we have almost a complete squad, but as Friday showed, there's still much settling & improving to do. Good addition & start though. Another player or two to come?

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tractorboybig added 06:37 - Aug 11 all theses comments by people who probably never heard of him before. lets see
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Steve_ITFC_Sweden added 06:59 - Aug 11 Looks to be a tough cookie. We need that up front as sometimes we appear a bit lightweight. Welcome, Chuba. I'd like to see both Chuba and Hirst up front, but I don't know much about formations, so I'll leave that one to Kieran. With Cajuste and Akpom, we suddenly feel like a much better outfit than the one that took on B'ham. Southampton will be a big test of whether this is the case.

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jas0999 added 07:59 - Aug 11 Great news! Much needed. Albeit another loan. Need to gain promotion, otherwise back to square one next summer.
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Marinersnose added 08:12 - Aug 11 He was an excellent talent as an Arsenal youngster but never got the breaks. He’s quick strong and decent in the air and he’s better as a 10. He could play in the same team as Hirst and this would give us more of a goal threat. What’s not to like !! A player who has fantastic touch is always nice to see. Couple of midfielders now a must
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blues1 added 08:18 - Aug 11 MickMillsTash. U dont think Szmodics is a number 10? That's exactly what he is, and thsts the position he scored the majority of his goals for Blackburn 2 years ago.
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poet added 08:20 - Aug 11 Excellent news.
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poet added 08:20 - Aug 11 Excellent news.
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