If you want an example of how to win people over after a turbulent summer transfer window, then Tolu Arokodare has provided the blueprint.
The striker left Wolves for Ajax in acrimonious circumstances in the summer. We don’t need to go into detail on that, you’ll know the story on that one. The various parties are still arguing about what happened.
Either way, by the time he rocked up at Ajax, it was fair to say his reputation had taken a battering. That’s quickly changed at Ajax.
Sport Witness have covered various reports about the striker earning fans off the pitch. And the Wolves loanee has been talking up how happy he is and how he wanted the move from the first instance.
He’s also been impressing on the pitch. To date he’s managed nine goals and three assists in 14 games in all competitions. And that’s brought the question of his future into the spotlight.
Transfer decision obvious
Last week we reported how the striker has proven all his doubters wrong. Then Sport Witness reported how the PR campaign was clearly working. Various journalists were falling in love with the striker and signing his praises.
Then yesterday Sport Witness reported how negotiations had already started about a permanent transfer.
The current loan deal with Wolves includes an option for Ajax to make the deal permanently. If the striker continues his current form continues, it is very likely that the Dutch side will use that to get him permanently.
€20m transfer clause
And that is a decision which would be roundly backed by the journalists are watching him shine each week.
“That Tolu—the one with the difficult surname—if I were Jordi Cruijff, I’d buy him in a heartbeat. The guy carries the entire team on his back, and he puts the team ahead of himself,” said Willem van Hanegem in Algemeen Dagblad.
“Marcos Leonardo has had such a mediocre start that we’ve reached a point where, if he manages to press an opponent or successfully find a teammate, we say: ‘He didn’t play too badly.’
“Meanwhile, Tolu actually offers him words of encouragement afterward—even though he’s in a completely different class than that expensive Brazilian. It’s really quite lovely.”
Mike Verweij, meanwhile, believes that Ajax should shell out €20m for the Wolves loanee.
“Ajax has secured a purchase option of €20m,” he said on De Telegraaf’s Kick Off Podcast.
“But he’s already delivered eight goals and three assists, and when you see how he’s becoming a major fan favorite… Strikers are expensive.
“I think Jordi Cruijff is ultimately going to have to open the chequebook. And I believe he should go all-in to secure Tolu. He mentioned wanting to talk to Jordi—though that might also mean his salary would need to go up.”
