Chuba Akpom has received his second Championship Fans’ Player of the Month award this season as he remains the league’s top scorer.

Former Arsenal striker Chuba Akpom is having the season of his career at Middlesbrough, and he received another award on Friday as the PFA handed him the Championship Fans’ Player of the Month award for January.

Akpom had already won the same award for November, but he picked it up once again as his strong form continues.

With 17 goals in the Championship this season, Akpom is clear as the division’s top scorer, four goals ahead of Viktor Gyokeres in second place.

Those goals have been a huge boost for Middlesbrough, who have risen from 21st place at the end of October to 3rd place in mid-February.

Automatic promotion to the Premier League still looks unlikely, with Boro seven points off second place having played a game more than the two teams above them.

But second-place Sheffield United’s 3-1 defeat to Boro at the weekend will have given Akpom’s side some slim hope of a top-two finish, with Akpom scoring again in that fixture.

For Akpom individually, this is already easily his best goalscoring season. His previous record was 11 goals in all competitions, but he’s already at 18 for the current campaign, including one against Premier League Brighton in the FA Cup.

The former Gunner is hitting his stride with Middlesbrough after a tricky start to life with the club. He’ll hope the season ends with a return to the Premier League, eight seasons after he last featured in the competition with Arsenal.