CHRIS WILDER has spent the whole of the summer scouring the world for potential attacking acquisitions, but perhaps the answer to his goalscoring problems was there along, waiting for an invitation to rejoin training at Rockliffe Park.

Had the Boro boss been more successful in the transfer market in the last few weeks, there is every chance Chuba Akpom would have been long gone from Teesside, perhaps back at PAOK Salonika for yet another loan move or maybe allowed to leave permanently along with his fellow exile Uche Ikpeazu.

Instead, with his goalscoring options severely limited, Wilder opted to reintroduce Akpom to the fold towards the end of pre-season. Initially, it felt like a desperate gesture, a cry for help to illustrate just how bare the cupboard had become. After today, however, it can instead by portrayed as a masterstroke.

Akpom’s first two goals in a Boro shirt for more than a year didn’t just secure a valuable point against Sheffield United, they also marked a rebirth for a player who, at the age of 26, could still have his best years ahead of him. Initially signed for £2.75m under Neil Warnock in September 2020, it is fair to say that the striker has been a slow burner. Two years on from his arrival, and perhaps he is about to ignite.

He was the key performer in a rumbustious encounter that ebbed this way and that before ending in a draw that ultimately felt like a fair result. Wilder will have been delighted with Akpom’s interventions, but no one would have been more relieved to see the striker glancing home an 82nd-minute equaliser than Ryan Giles, whose comical own goal looked like condemning Boro to defeat. That Giles was heavily involved in the equaliser, before almost setting up a winner for Duncan Watmore, was proof of a positive reaction from the wing-back.

One of Boro’s worst performances under Wilder came as they were dismantled at Bramall Lane towards the end of last season, and the former Blades boss must have been fearing the worst again as he watched his former employers claim the lead inside the opening three minutes today.

Sander Berge turned away from Riley McGree after picking up the ball with his back to goal, and with Darragh Lenihan standing off him, the Norwegian, who is the subject of strong transfer interest from Belgian side Club Brugge, drilled a low finish across Zack Steffen and into the corner.

Having conceded at such an early stage, it took Boro a few minutes to regather themselves, but to their credit, the hosts hit back just 11 minutes later to equalise.

Whereas Berge’s goal was a fine solo effort, the Teessiders’ leveller was a wonderful team strike with Paddy McNair and Anfernee Dijksteel both involved in the move that sent Isaiah Jones scampering towards the byline. The wing-back delivered a low cross across the box, and the recalled Akpom was left with the simple task of slotting home.

Akpom formed an effective attacking partnership with Marcus Forss, with both strikers straining every sinew to close down Sheffield United’s defenders to prevent their opponents from playing out from the back. In fairness, the same could be said of Billy Sharp, Iliman Ndiaye and Rhian Brewster at the opposite end of the field.

The tempo of the game was a credit to both sets of players given the heat, and Akpom went close again midway through the first half, controlling McNair’s pass on his chest before swivelling and firing over. With McGree also drilling in a first-half strike that was saved by Wes Foderingham, the Teessiders were a more cohesive attacking unit than in any of their previous games this season.

They remained vulnerable at the back though, and John Egan had the ball in the Boro net towards the end of the first half, only for his headed effort from Oliver Norwood’s free-kick to be ruled out for offside.

The visitors threatened again at the start of the second period, but while Brewster just about managed to round Steffen, the Boro keeper did enough to put him off and the striker’s scuffed shot was hacked clear by a covering Marc Bola, who was a half-time replacement for Dael Fry.

With Steffen parrying Max Lowe’s driven effort shortly after, the Teessiders were on the back foot in the early stages of the second half, with their lack of midfield control threatening to be their undoing.

There was a general sloppiness to much of Boro’s play after the break, characterised by the cheap way in which Akpom conceded possession just before the hour mark, allowing Brewster to angle in a header that would have found the net had it not been for an excellent save from Steffen.

That was poor from Akpom, but it was nothing compared to the howler that resulted in Boro falling behind for a second time in the 68th minute.

Giles has made a positive start to life in a Boro shirt, but this was not an incident the 22-year-old will want to see again in a hurry. There appeared to be little danger when he shaped to clear Ndiaye’s low cross from the left, but despite having no one around him, the wing-back miscued his attempted clearance and drilled a horrible own goal into his own net.

Thankfully, it was not to prove decisive. Giles crossed at the other end with eight minutes remaining, and after Lenihan directed an initial headed effort towards goal, Akpom glanced home an instinctive effort to double his tally for the afternoon and level things again.

There was almost a Boro winner with three minutes left, but while Watmore stabbed out a foot to reach Giles’ low cross, his first-time effort thudded against the base of the left-hand post.