Upon his summer arrival at Ajax Amsterdam in the Netherlands, Tolu Arokodare hit the headlines with an assist last weekend. Still, the biggest talking point for him was his huge height advantage, which helped his team secure an away win on the opening day of the season.
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Sports247 reports that Arokodare joined two other substitutes – Jorthy Mokio and Julian Brandt – to help Ajax snatch a hard-fought 2-0 victory away at hard fighting PEC Zwolle on Sunday.
Although the lanky former RKC Genk of Belgium top scorer could not get his name on the scorers’ cards to seal a memorable debut, several match reviews were replete with pointers to the impact he made off the bench during the game.
The apkash of reviews marks a turnaround of sorts for the hitman who grew up in FESTAC Town, Lagos, as he spent all of last season struggling for a stating shirt at Wolverhampton Wanderers of England.
Things went from bad to worse for him when Wolves eventually got relegated, and any thought of him staying on to fight for relevance with the team in the lower cadre Championship did not materialise.
The lowest ebb for Arokodare at The Molineux Stadium came when the club’s new coach shut him out of the first team and blocked him from their training sessions, which led to a physical reaction by the tall player.
However, all of that now appears forgotten, as Arokodare returned to relevance in his very first competitive game at his new base, with a strong hint that he could jolly well be back to the glorious breakout days he had in Belgium.
A report by Tribal Football added, “With the likes of Mika Godts, Julian Brandt, Marcos Leonardo, and Tolu Arokodare on the pitch in the last half hour, Ajax hardly upped the pressure and still couldn’t muster many big chances, letting the match become a race against the clock.
“The presence of the 1.97m-tall Arokodare made an immediate difference – the Nigerian striker controlled and laid off a cross from Lucas Rosa, giving Jorthy Mokio a perfect opportunity to fire it past Jesper Schendelaar in the 77th minute.
“The Amsterdam side held on, securing an opening-weekend victory ahead of their second leg in the UEFA Conference League third-round qualifiers.”
