Brighton and Hove Albion have signed a promising young Arsenal and England striker on loan until the end of the season.
Chuba Akpom, 21, passed his medical at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre in Lancing yesterday evening (Monday 30 January).
The Londoner is due to link up with his new team-mates for training this morning before they head to Huddersfield Town for a Championship fixture on Thursday (2 February).
Albion boss Chris Hughton said: “As soon as we allowed Elvis Manu to go out on loan, we knew we wanted to add to the forward area, so we are delighted to bring in someone of Chuba’s calibre.
“He is a young talent who gained valuable experience with Hull in the Championship last season, will give us really good pace in the forward areas and complement the other strikers at the club.
“We fought off competition from other clubs to sign Chuba and we would like to thank Arsenal for the opportunity of working with him for the rest of the season.”
Akpom has already scored four times in two appearances at the Amex, including a hat-trick for the Arsenal under-21s in their 4-0 win against Albion in December 2014.
He returned to Falmer in an England shirt in November 2015 for the under-21 match against Switzerland and bagged a goal in the 3-1 win.
Akpom scored seven goals from 22 starts while on loan at Hull City last season, helping the Tigers to win promotion to the Premiership. He has also had brief loan spells with Brentford, Coventry City and Nottingham Forest.
Albion said: “Highly regarded at Arsenal, he has made one start and nine sub appearances for Arsene Wenger in the senior side, featuring in the Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup.
“Born in Canning Town, Akpom has been with the Gunners since the age of six. He’s also represented England at every age level from under-15, scoring three goals in four games for Gareth Southgate at under-21 level.”
