Middlesbrough have been the form team of late not just in the Championship but in the entire English football pyramid. In the 17 league games since the appointment of Michael Carrick, Boro have lost just three games, drawn once and won the other 13 games. One player who has stood out for them is attacking midfielder Chuba Akpom. The 27-year-old has started every game in this run and has been vital to Boro’s rise to third place in the Championship table.

The below visualisation shows where Chuba Akpom ranks for some of the key metrics when compared with the other attacking midfielders from the Championship this season.

Akpom, playing as a ‘10’ for Middlesbrough, is the leading scorer in the Championship (at the time of writing), with 19 goals to his name. However, he has only one assist to his name, which might come as a surprise for some given that he regularly plays a slightly deeper role and not as an out-and-out centre-forward.

Since the Preston game (Micheal Carrick’s first game), Akpom has scored in 11 out of the 17 games, netting 15 times during this run. That is an incredible return. What is impressive about his game is how frequently he ends up in goalscoring positions. As seen in the visual above, he ranks above average for touches in Opp. Penalty area. He is not as creative as a typical no.10. He is also very good aerially — ranking 90th percentile for Aerial Duels per 90 and 67th percentile for Aerial Duels won.

Middlesbrough sat 19th on the table when Carrick took over. Now, they are third and look clear favourites to finish in the playoff spots, at least. Carrick will want his star man to continue his form as we approach the most important period of the season.