NEC Nijmegen’s Perr Schuurs reveals his surprise over Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Tolu Arokodare’s performance after their 1-1 draw against Ajax at the weekend.
The Nigeria international had starred for KRC Genk during the 2024/25 season, managing 23 goals and seven assists.
This convinced Wolves to bet on him in September 2025, but he failed to shine at Molineux. Last season, he scored three goals and contributed one assist from 33 Premier League matches.
The Championship side appointed César Peixoto as their manager to help them return to the top flight. He left the 25-year-old out of his core plans this season.
Wolves sanctioned a loan [with buying option] to Ajax in July, after a drama involving the player and manager during pre-season.
Decision to leave Wolves playing off
Prior to his move to Amsterdam, Fiorentina and Trabzonspor made offers to sign him. The English club accepted the latter’s offer while he wanted to join the Serie A side.
His refusal to move to Turkey didn’t please César Peixoto, who asked him to leave the group. Tolu Arokodare didn’t accept it, resulting in the manager cancelling a training session.
The frontman was a flop in England and is trying to turn things around in the Eredivisie. The loan move has worked out well so far as he scored seven goals and contributed two assists from 10 matches for Ajax.
At the weekend, the Wolves man opened the scoring in their 1-1 draw against NEC. The clash saw former Ajax defender Perr Schuurs return to Johan Cruijff ArenA.
Wolves owned player surprises Dutchman
After the match, Perr Schuurs spoke to De Telegraaf about Tolu Arokodare and Ajax Show Time have relayed his comments. The 26-year-old centre-back says the Wolves striker has surpassed his expectations.
“I had already expected a lot, but when the match started, it was actually even more than I had thought beforehand. Not only in terms of strength, but also in terms of intelligence. I knew he was big and strong, but he can also jump incredibly high,” he said.
“You don’t see that combination of height, timing, and power often. I think he is a real asset to the Eredivisie.”
Schuurs returned to the Netherlands after spending four years at Torino between 2022 and 2026. The defender says he hasn’t seen a striker like the Wolves man while in Italy.
“Honestly, no. I played in the Eredivisie for four years and I haven’t come across a striker like that yet. And you don’t see this type often in Italy either. People mention Lukaku, but that is a different type of player. Tolu wants the ball on his chest or in the air more often,” he added.
“I think it was mainly his quality. A good cross, a good header. There was little we could do about that. It was impressive how much power he could still put into that ball, even though it came in quite softly in front of the goal.”
