CHUBA Akpom says he would "love to stay at Middlesbrough" amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the striker's future as he moves into the last 12 months of his contract on Teesside.

Akpom enjoyed the best season of his career last term, winning the Championship's Golden Boot and Player of the Year awards - but as things stand his long-term future on Teesside is unclear, with his current deal due to expire next summer.

Negotiations between the striker's representatives and the club have taken place and although Akpom says "a lot of things are out of his control", the 27-year-old insists he wants to stay at Boro.

“Yeah, of course [I want to stay]," said the former Arsenal striker, speaking at the EFL's season launch on Wednesday afternoon.

"I’ve made it clear that I feel at home here, so I think me saying that shows that I would love to stay.

"I’ve played my best football here and I just feel very loved by the fans. I still get a lot of love from the fans and I still feel at home at the club, in and around the training ground and stuff.

"We’ll just have to see how things go. A lot of things are not in my control or not in my hands, so I just have to focus on getting fit and being ready to play football again."

Akpom's immediate focus is on getting fit, with the striker having missed the entirety of pre-season with a knee injury he suffered during the play-off semi-final defeat to Coventry City.

And in a boost to Boro and Carrick ahead of the Championship campaign getting underway this weekend, Akpom has revealed that he's now back in light training.

It's not clear at this stage when Akpom will be ready to return but the forward says he's in a "good position" and despite missing pre-season, is confident it won't take him long to rediscover top form.

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He said: “I’ve had some setbacks. I picked up the injury against Coventry, last game, came back and then did something again.

"It’s nothing major though and I’m slowly getting there. I’m back on the grass and running and doing individual ball work, so it’s good progress. I don’t want to put a timeframe on it, I just go on how I feel really.

"You don’t want to rush it and get re-injured. So I take it day-by-day, but I can say I’m in a good position right now.

“I’ve never had a pre-season where I’ve been injured. This is probably the first time. Obviously last year I didn’t play much, just 30 minutes against Marseille. But then I did have the training to back that up. This year I’ve been injured the whole time obviously, but I know that I can get back to my top form. I just need a bit of time but I’ll get there.

"Pre-season is important for any player, because it does stand you in good stead fitness-wise for the whole season. But it is what it is. I haven’t had the time to be with the team during pre-season. But, on a positive note, I’ve been in the gym trying to strengthen my knee and my body.

"I’ve certainly not just been sitting on my backside doing nothing. I’ve been working hard every day on the rehab side at the training ground."