Sven Mislintat, Ajax’s director of football, almost signed Chuba Akpom for Borussia Dortmund when he was 19.

Akpom’s journey from Arsenal to various loan spells and finally finding success with Middlesbrough has led him to Ajax, where he’ll be wearing the No.10 jersey. ​

He penned a five-year-deal for an initial fee of €12.3m to join the Dutch giants on Wednesday.

Mislintat holds a lot of admiration for Akpom’s development as a striker.

“Chuba was a special player as a young player. He played as a supporting striker, attacking midfielder, and sometimes winger
but also number nine.​

“A very versatile player with a lot of qualities. To be honest, I was already interested once in him. I tried to sign him at the age of 19 from Arsenal to move to Dortmund but he made a decision to stay at Arsenal,” Mislintat told Ajax website.

The Forward’s work permit delay kept him out of this weekend’s match, but he could be available for Ajax’s Europa League qualifier
next week.