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Dapo Afolayan

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Oladapo Joshua Afolayan (born 11 September 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or centre-forward for Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli.

Dapo Afolayan
Afolayan playing for Solihull Moors in 2017
Personal information
Full name Oladapo Joshua Afolayan[1]
Date of birth (1997-09-11) 11 September 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth Harrow, England
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2]
Position(s) Winger, centre-forward
Team information
Current team
 FC St. Pauli
Number 17
Youth career
2002–2006 Harrow St Marys
2006–2013 Chelsea
2013–2015 Toronto FC
2015–2016 Barnet
2016 Tooting & Mitcham United
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Toronto Varsity Blues 11 (1)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Toronto FC III
2015 ANB Futbol
2016–2017 Loughborough University 11 (3)
2017–2018 Solihull Moors 45 (15)
2018–2021 West Ham United 0 (0)
2019 → Oldham Athletic (loan) 10 (0)
2019–2020 → Mansfield Town (loan) 6 (1)
2021 → Bolton Wanderers (loan) 21 (1)
2021–2023 Bolton Wanderers 66 (15)
2023– FC St. Pauli 47 (12)
International career
2017 England C 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 07:53, 20 May 2024 (UTC)

He spent his youth at a multitude of clubs: Harrow St Marys, Chelsea, Toronto FC, Barnet, Tooting & Mitcham United and Toronto Varsity Blues. He left the Chelsea academy in order to concentrate on his GCSEs. He moved to Canada with his family but returned to England to study civil engineering at Loughborough University.[3] He signed with Solihull Moors in February 2017 and scored 15 goals in 50 appearances, winning a move to Premier League club West Ham United 12 months later; he was also capped by the England C team. He spent the second half of the 2018–19 season on loan at Oldham Athletic and the first half of the 2019–20 campaign on loan at Mansfield Town.

Club career

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Early career

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Afolayan joined Harrow St Marys at under-5 level and moved into the youth system at Chelsea at the age of nine, having turned down the chance of a rival offer from Arsenal.[4][5][6] He struggled with his short stature as a teenager and was restricted to playing as a winger.[5] He left Chelsea at the age of 14 so that academy football did not get in the way of his schooling,[7] at Merchant Taylors School.[8]

At the age of 15, Afolayan moved to Canada and spent time in Toronto FC's reserve squad in League1 Ontario and the Premier Development League. He later said that despite being just 16 he "trained with the first team quite a bit and played with the likes of Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco".[6] Late in the 2015 season, he played for ANB Futbol in League1 Ontario.[9] He also played for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, while in Canada.[10][11]

Afolayan returned to England at the age of 18 to study a civil engineering degree at Loughborough University. He spent time playing youth football at Barnet and Tooting & Mitcham United.[12] He went on to play for the Loughborough University football team whilst studying, scoring three goals in 11 appearances for the club in the Midland League.[13]

Solihull Moors

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On 7 February 2017, Afolayan signed for National League club Solihull Moors; he had previously been on trial at Rochdale.[14] Four days after joining the Moors, Afolayan scored on his debut, scoring the final goal in a 3–0 win over Sutton United at Damson Park.[15] He scored four goals in 15 games in the 2016–17 season and turned fully professional at the club in the summer, switching his engineering degree at Loughborough University for an online course.[7] He also spent time at Jamie Vardy's V9 Academy.[16] On 27 January 2018, Afolayan scored in his final game for the club, in a 3–1 win against Dagenham & Redbridge.[17] Despite leaving the club half way through the campaign, he was Solihull's top-scorer for the entire 2017–18 season with 11 goals in 35 matches; Solihull ended the season in 18th place under the stewardship of Mark Yates.

West Ham United

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On 1 February 2018, Afolayan signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Premier League club West Ham United.[18] On 31 January 2019, he joined League Two side Oldham Athletic on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[19] He made his Football League debut for the "Latics" in a 3–1 loss away to Bury on 23 February; he came onto the pitch as a 76th-minute substitute for Zak Dearnley.[20] In total he made four starts and six substitute appearances during his time at Boundary Park and said he learned a lot form working under manager Paul Scholes.[21]

He returned to League Two on a half-season loan with Mansfield Town on 29 August 2019.[22] He scored his first Football League goal on 12 October, in a 6–1 win over former club Oldham Athletic at Field Mill; he also won a penalty in the game.[23] Manager John Dempster "what impressed me was the distance he covered. He was pressing all over the pitch. He ran himself into the ground".[24]

On 23 January 2021, Afolayan made his debut for West Ham, appearing as a substitute and scoring in a 4–0 FA Cup win against Doncaster Rovers.[25]

Bolton Wanderers

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Afolayan moved on loan to Bolton Wanderers on 1 February 2021.[26][27] Bolton had the option to make the deal permanent at the end of his loan.[28]

His debut came on 9 February, when he came on as a substitute for Lloyd Isgrove in a 1–1 draw against Morecambe.[29] His first start came four days later in a 1–0 win against Stevenage.[30] He scored his first goal for Bolton on the final day of the season, scoring Bolton's second goal in a 4–1 win against Crawley Town, the win confirming Bolton's promotion to League One.[31]

On 27 May 2021, Afolayan signed a permanent three-year contract with Bolton,[32][33] after Bolton activated the option clause in the loan agreement.[34]

Afolayan started off the 2021–22 EFL League One campaign in excellent form, scoring six goals in the opening eleven games and was voted as Bolton's Player of the Month for both August and September 2021.[35] He finished the season with 14 goals, making him Bolton's leading scorer, and he was voted as the club's Player of the Year for the 2021–22 season.[36]

The 2022–2023 season saw Bolton change formation. In addition to that, as well as new signings playing well, his playing time became limited with Bolton trying to play him in various different positions to no avail.[37][38] As a result, in January 2023, Afolayan was the subject of transfer bids from multiple clubs,[39][40] with it being confirmed that Afolayan would leave the club and they would be able to cope without him.[41]

FC St. Pauli

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On 19 January 2023, Afolayan signed for 2. Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli after originally having three bids rejected by Bolton Wanderers, their fourth bid finally meeting Bolton's valuation.[37][42][43] The fee was undisclosed,[37] though The Bolton News reported it was around £500,000.[38] On 12 May 2024, he scored a brace in a 3–1 win over VfL Osnabrück, which secured promotion of his club to the Bundesliga for the first time since 2010–11.[44]

International career

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Afolayan won a cap for Paul Fairclough's England C team on 8 November 2017, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute for Fejiri Okenabirhie in a 4–0 defeat to eventual International Challenge Trophy winners Slovakia U23.[45]

In April 2021, Afolayan was asked in the Bolton Wanderers matchday programme if he would consider playing for Nigeria and he stated "Yeah I would. It's something I've thought about and hopefully I can keep playing well and get on their radar."[46]

Style of play

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Afolayan can play as a winger[47] or centre-forward.[48] West Ham Academy director Terry Westley said that he is an "interesting player" who is "aggressive, has great pace and the knack of scoring goal".[49] Bolton Wanderers fans compared him to Jay-Jay Okocha due to the silky skills he produced whilst playing for them.[50] Afolayan enjoyed these comparisons and after scoring against AFC Wimbledon did Okocha's signature goal celebration.[51]

Career statistics

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As of match played 6 December 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Toronto FC III 2015[52] Premier Development League 10 1 — — — 10 1
Loughborough University 2016–17[13] Midland League Premier Division 11 3 0 0 — 0 0 11 3
Solihull Moors 2016–17[53] National League 15 4 0 0 — 0 0 15 4
2017–18[53] National League 30 11 3 0 — 2[c] 0 35 11
Total 45 15 3 0 0 0 2 0 50 15
West Ham United U21 2020–21[25] – — — — 4[d] 0 4 0
West Ham United 2018–19[54] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2019–20[55] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
2020–21[25] Premier League 0 0 1 1 0 0 — 1 1
Total 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 1
Oldham Athletic (loan) 2018–19[54] League Two 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 0
Mansfield Town (loan) 2019–20[55] League Two 6 1 0 0 0 0 2[d] 0 8 1
Bolton Wanderers (loan) 2020–21[25] League Two 21 1 — — — 21 1
Bolton Wanderers 2021–22[56] League One 44 12 2 0 1 0 4[d] 2 51 14
2022–23 League One 22 3 1 0 2 1 4[d] 2 29 6
Total 66 15 3 0 2 1 8 4 80 20
FC St. Pauli 2022–23[57] 2. Bundesliga 16 3 — — — 16 3
2023–24[58] 2. Bundesliga 15 2 2 1 — — 17 3
Total 31 5 2 1 — — 33 6
Career total 200 41 9 2 3 1 16 4 228 48
  1. ^ Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
  2. ^ Includes EFL Cup
  3. ^ Appearances in FA Trophy
  4. ^ a b c d Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

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FC St. Pauli

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Mansfield Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 41. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ "Oladapo Afolayan Stats, News, Bio". ESPN. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  3. ^ "Oladapo Afolayan: I've worked my socks off and I'm just happy it's paid off". whufc.com. 23 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Oladapo Afolayan". West Ham United F.C. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Academy Spotlight: Oladapo Afolayan". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  6. ^ a b "From Toronto to Solihull: the rise of Solihull Moors striker Dapo Afolayan". Solihull Observer. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b Evans, Chris (16 February 2018). "Dapo Afolayan: The forward who turned down Chelsea for non-league". The Set Pieces. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Scissorum Issue 186 February 2 2018 - mtsn.org.uk Issue 186 ... French mathematician Evariste Galois. ... This week the Outdoor Education Shooting Team embarked on a - [PDF Document]". vdocuments.net. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Two former ANB Futbol players sign professional contracts" (PDF). ANB Futbol. February 2018.
  10. ^ "Dapo Afolayan". Ontario University Athletics. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  11. ^ "L1 2014 Post-Season Player Watch". League1 Ontario. 3 December 2014.
  12. ^ "Solihull Moors boss Liam McDonald delighted to secure former Chelsea kid Oladapo Afolayan". Solihull Observer. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  13. ^ a b "Total Motion Midland Football League". Football Association. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  14. ^ "Moors bolster strikeforce". Solihull Moors F.C. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2019.[dead link‍]
  15. ^ "Solihull Moors 3–0 Sutton United". BBC Sport. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  16. ^ "Oladapo Afolayan". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  17. ^ "Dagenham & Redbridge 1–3 Solihull Moors". BBC Sport. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  18. ^ "West Ham snap up forward Oladapo Afolayan". West Ham United F.C. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  19. ^ "Afolayan joins Oldham Athletic on loan". West Ham United F.C. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  20. ^ "Bury 3–1 Oldham Athletic". BBC Sport. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
  21. ^ "Afolayan: I can't wait for the first pre-season test". www.whufc.com. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  22. ^ "Oladapo Afolayan: Mansfield Town sign West Ham United forward on loan". BBC Sport. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  23. ^ "Mansfield Town 6-1 Oldham Athletic: Dino Maamria 'bemused' at double sending off". BBC Sport. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  24. ^ Owen, Danny (14 October 2019). "'Huge asset': West Ham loanee Dapo Afolayan shines in Mansfield thrashing". HITC. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  25. ^ a b c d "Games played by Dapo Afolayan in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  26. ^ McDougall, John (1 February 2021). "Bolton sign West Ham forward Afolayan on loan for rest of season". Manchester Evening News.
  27. ^ "Bolton sign Afolayan, Jensen & Williams". BBC Sport.
  28. ^ "DEADLINE DAY LIVE: All the latest Bolton Wanderers transfer news and gossip". The Bolton News.
  29. ^ "Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Morecambe". BBC Sport.
  30. ^ "Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Stevenage". BBC Sport.
  31. ^ "Bolton promoted after win at Crawley". BBC Sport.
  32. ^ McDougall, John (27 May 2021). "Bolton sign forward Afolayan on permanent deal after West Ham release". Manchester Evening News.
  33. ^ "Bolton sign West Ham striker Afolayan". BBC Sport.
  34. ^ "DAPO AFOLAYAN | Forward after joining in permanent switch from West Ham United" – via www.youtube.com.
  35. ^ Archer, Kyle (7 October 2021). "24-year-old West Ham released this summer named Player of the Month for second time". HITC.
  36. ^ a b "Afolayan Named Player of the Year". www.bwfc.co.uk.
  37. ^ a b c "Thank You Dapo". www.bwfc.co.uk.
  38. ^ a b "Dapo Afolayan exit is confirmed as attacker joins St Pauli in £500,000 deal". The Bolton News.
  39. ^ "Is it really 'auf wiedersehen' for Bolton Wanderers star man Dapo Afolayan?". The Bolton News.
  40. ^ "'Ball is in his court' - Evatt confirms bids accepted for Dapo Afolayan". The Bolton News.
  41. ^ "Ian Evatt confident Wanderers can progress without wantaway Dapo Afolayan". The Bolton News.
  42. ^ "Der FC St. Pauli verpflichtet Flügelstürmer Oladapo Afolayan". FC St. Pauli (in German). 19 January 2023. Retrieved 20 January 2023.
  43. ^ "Bolton forward Afolayan joins German side St Pauli". BBC Sport.
  44. ^ "St. Pauli promoted back to the Bundesliga after 13-year wait". ESPN. 12 May 2024.
  45. ^ "Slovakia 4-0 England C". www.thefa.com. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  46. ^ "imgur.com". Imgur.
  47. ^ "Loan star Dapo Afolayan reveals his promotion plan for Bolton Wanderers". The Bolton News.
  48. ^ "Oladapo Afolayan | West Ham United". www.whufc.com.
  49. ^ "West Ham snap up forward Oladapo Afolayan". www.whufc.com. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  50. ^ "Why Dapo Afolayan is on a mission to entertain the fans at Bolton Wanderers". The Bolton News.
  51. ^ "Winger Dapo Afolayan plans to be must-see TV at Bolton Wanderers". The Bolton News.
  52. ^ "TFC Academy PDL 2015". Premier Development League. Archived from the original on 22 July 2015.
  53. ^ a b Dapo Afolayan at Soccerway
  54. ^ a b "Games played by Dapo Afolayan in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  55. ^ a b "Games played by Dapo Afolayan in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  56. ^ "Games played by Dapo Afolayan in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  57. ^ "Games played by Dapo Afolayan in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  58. ^ "Games played by Dapo Afolayan in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
 
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