HE might still want to add more attacking firepower to his squad, but Chris Wilder is adamant Chuba Akpom will not be leaving Middlesbrough after the striker revelled in his rebirth at the Riverside this afternoon.

Akpom scored both of Boro’s goals as they twice came from behind to claim a point from a breathless 2-2 draw with Sheffield United.

It was the striker’s first goals in a Boro shirt since April 2021, and capped a comeback that had looked extremely unlikely when he was omitted from Wilder’s squad for the start of pre-season training.

Having failed to make the early transfer breakthroughs he had hoped for, Wilder restored Akpom to the fold ahead of the final pre-season game with Marseille, and while he remains keen to recruit two more forwards before the transfer window closes at the start of next month, the Boro boss will not be ushering today’s goalscoring hero through the exit door.

“It was a difficult situation for Chuba when I came in, and a difficult situation for us,” said Wilder, who watched Akpom’s brace cancel out a first-half strike from Sander Berge and a second-half own goal from Ryan Giles. “But he doesn’t need to worry about anything else now because he’s going to be part of us going forward.

“He was outstanding, and the attitude to his game was great. He could, and possibly should, have come off at half-time because he was having treatment, but he wanted to stay on. His individual performance was very good, and his goals were great.

“He had to be dragged off the pitch, and that’s what I’m looking for. The supporters are looking for that. He’s part of it, and he has to keep that going. The only problem with Chuba is that he’s had about 300 different Football League clubs! Let’s hope he stays here a bit longer, but that’s down to him.”

Wilder admits he was not immediately convinced of Akpom’s qualities, but the 26-year-old has won him over to the extent where he will be one of the first names on the team sheet for Wednesday’s trip to Stoke City.

“He had to convince me, I’m not going to beat about the bush. But he’s done that,” he said. “I didn’t have to convince him because it’s a really good football club with good facilities.

“We want him to run around, we want him to work hard and we want him to compete. We want him to play, and he did. It was up to him – now it’s still up to him to keep that going. He’s part of the group, and I’m delighted to have him.”