Middlesbrough boss Neil Warnock has admitted he was "surprised" that he was able to lure Chuba Akpom to the Riverside in the summer.

Akpom became Forest's fourth signing of the transfer window when he joined from PAOK in September, netting 18 goals in 79 games for the Greek side.

The 25-year-old's time at Boro got off to a perfect start, scoring two goals in his first two games for the club against Queens Park Rangers and Barnsley.

Quiz: Did these 17 Middlesbrough players ever actually score a league goal for the club?

Akpom hasn't scored in his last six games, but his performances have been impressive and he has been a key player under Warnock thus far.

Speaking in a recent Q&A session, Warnock admitted his "surprise" after luring Akpom to the Riverside, and went into detail about how long it took to get him to sign on the dotted line.

Via the Gazette Live, Warnock said: "I'd known Akpom from playing in the UK and he'd had a good couple of years in Greece.

"We tried to get him and this went on for about five or six weeks, Neil (Bausor) spoke to about 15 different agents that are involved with him.

"After a couple of weeks, I said I need to speak to the player. I got his number and spoke with him, and as soon as I spoke to him, I thought you will do for me. I said to him, you will come and enjoy it here, speaking the language, a manager like me to play for, you can't fail.

"We had a good chat. He was playing in the Champions League and he kept scoring and they kept winning, I was surprised when we got him."

Boro have made a fine start to the Championship campaign, and currently sit seventh in the league table despite winning only four of their opening 11 league games.

The Verdict

Akpom was given a new lease of life over in Greece and is quite a big name, so it was a bit of a coup for Boro to sign him.

He would have left Arsenal looking to go to Greece, make a name for himself and attract interest from a Premier League club, but that hasn't turned out to be the case.

Boro is a good move for him, though, and he will be eager to get back on the scoresheet sooner rather than later and look to impress.