Middlesbrough star is following exciting Chuba Akpom blueprint: View | OneFootball

Highlights

Emmanuel Latte Lath is the latest striker in Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough side to excel.

25-year-old Latte Lath began his life at Middlesbrough with hope of continuing his sparkling form, playing for Swiss side St. Gallen. In the Swiss Super League, Latte Lath bagged an impressive 16 goals and three assists in 34 appearances, which garnered attention from Middlesbrough, who were looking for a replacement for starlet Chuba Akpom.

The idea was to bring in the then 24-year-old as a direct replacement for Akpom, who made a huge move to Ajax last summer for an initial fee of £10.5 million. In the same way as Akpom, Latte Lath will be developed and utilised to push Boro towards promotion.

First campaigns stunted by injuries

The right-footed striker had a slow start under Michael Carrick, having to overcome some injuries and adapt to the very physical English game. He made just 11 appearances before March 2024, creating a worry that Boro would have to enter the striker market again. Coming back from injury has been perfect for Latte Lath, however, as he scored seven goals in 10 consecutive starts back in the Championship.

His stats for the season are excellent despite the aforementioned injury problems, as he managed a seriously eye-catching 16 goals and one assist in 30 matches in the Championship - pointing to the brilliant business of getting the Ivory Coast forward on a four-year contract and giving hope for a promising 2024/25 season.

A particularly exciting period at the Riverside Stadium for Latte Lath came at the end of the campaign, scoring in their strong wins against Watford and Cardiff City. His performance against Leeds United before these two games was probably his best performance in red and white, despite the loss, as he bagged two superb goals in their fight. Serious ability was shown in his first goal in an awkward position, moving around Leeds' defenders and smashing the ball past goalkeeper Islan Meslier.

The goal for the brace was a stark example of Latte Lath's awareness too, as he lofted the ball over the sweeping goalkeeper with his head, in a more stationary version of Robin Van Persie's infamous 2014 World Cup header for the Netherlands.

Following the Akpom blueprint, but not copying the design

There is the argument that the rise of Latte Lath is similar to Akpom, as the latter also struggled with injury trying to break into the squad, before moving back to his former club PAOK on loan. Following his loan spell, Akpom integrated himself into former manager Chris Wilder's side, grabbing his first hattrick for the club in a 4-1 victory over Wigan Athletic.

Latte Lath will hope a loan move away from the club isn't a possibility this summer, as his end-of-season form clearly warrants another shot as their main forward.

There is an eerie similarity between the two and their journey at Middlesborough. They both have a vivid creativity for aerial attempts, which was and is utilised under manager Carrick's style of play. This season, during his brief stint in the side, Carrick looked at playing the ball out wide and waiting for space for Latte Lath to run into, seeing wide players Finn Azaz and Isiah Jones rack up assists in the 2023/24 campaign.

The blueprint established by Akpom is only exciting though if Boro manage to keep hold of their new front-man for longer than one successful campaign. The biggest drawback of creating a machine in front of goal like with Akpom is that wealthier clubs will circle to try and sign them.

This concern is certainly real again this summer, as Teesside Live reported that Latte Lath's agent, Matthias Veneroso, hasn't ruled out a potential move off the back of his client's brilliant end-of-season form. On a positive note for the club off-the-field, the striking talent factory is becoming an exercise in profiteering for owner Steve Gibson. The club is likely still feeling the benefits of the cash flow from Ajax for Akpom and, while a move away from the club for Latte Lath might be seen as a disappointment, it wouldn't be without a hefty fee.

Emmanuel Latte Lath is following the blueprint created by Chuba Akpom but is carving his own path in Michael Carrick's side. If his last few games are anything to go by, Boro fans have every reason to believe the Ivorian will be their next big star.