Middlesbrough will emulate Spurs’ Harry Kane approach after Chuba Akpom exit
Boro are facing up to life without last season’s top goalscorer but it’s not necessarily a case of simply replacing him
Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane (left) and Ajax’s former Middlesbrough front man Chuba Akpom
Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick is confident his side will cope without the goals of Chuba Akpom, and has pointed to Tottenham’s situation in the post-Harry Kane era as the perfect example.
Boro saw last season’s top goalscorer Akpom join Ajax for £12m this summer, meaning Carrick has had find new ways of adding goals to his squad. The former Arsenal striker hit 29 goals in all competitions for Boro last term, but Carrick says it’s not simply about replacing him in the team.
Instead, he wants his side to evolve, with others taking goalscoring responsbilities. Tottenham have faced the same situation this summer following Kane’s departure to Bayern Munuch – but Ange Postecoglou’s side have already scored four goals in their two Premier League games, including a 2-0 win over Manchester United.
And while the situations are not identical, Carrick says Spurs are a good example of that evolution which is needed.
“It’s interesting Ange Postecoglou said something similar to me – not about directly replacing someone but finding a new way,” Carrick said. “Spurs probably are a good example to us the way they have started.
“But that is football. Players from all sorts of different teams at every level move on. That happens. Even at Manchester United, they had a history of losing players and finding a new way to cope without them. We were always able to adapt.
“Looking back at when we lost Cristiano Ronaldo and all those goals . It wasn’t necessarily about bringing in someone who could score the game amount of goals as him. It was not about finding another player who could score 30 or 40 but making sure more players chipped in , sharing them out a bit more.
“History proves that is what every team has to do at some stage. And that is my challenge right now, Bringing the best out of what’s next and making the most of what we have now and we’ll certainly try to do that.
