First impressions count for a lot, particularly when you’re sat in front of a room full of journalists. And it seems Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare managed that at Ajax.
The striker joined the Dutch giants on loan in the summer following an acrimonious departure from Molineux. We won’t go into the details on that exit, but it’s fair to say it didn’t leave the striker’s reputation in particularly good shape.
He’s gone a long way to repairing that reputation in the months since. Alongside his performances on the pitch – eight goals and three assists in 13 games in all competitions – there’s been plenty of effort of it too.
Earlier this year Sport Witness reported how the striker was the nicest man in football after an event in the tunnels at Ajax.
This week we also reported comments from manager Michel, who has quickly fallen in love with his loanee.
“How would I describe Tolu? As ‘The Special One,’” he said with a laugh.
“He has a spectacular personality. He’s a great guy and a fantastic teammate. He plays with his soul and possesses very specific qualities. That said, he could be even more involved in our style of play.”
Journalists convinced
He’s not the only one impressed by the Wolves man. Journalist Sjoerd Mossou admits he was loving him from day one, before he started impressing on the pitch.
“To be honest, I had never heard of Tolu Arokodare before,” he said.
“He arrived this summer amidst the transfer frenzy surrounding Ajax—a tropical surprise, appearing somewhere between the names of Marcos Leonardo and Julian Brandt.
“Three months later, Tolu Arokodare is already my favorite Eredivisie player of the 2026/2027 season—by quite some distance. And that’s down to a number of things.”
Efforts off the pitch
That growing appreciation is due to a number of things. But specifically, he was impressed by Arokodare’s efforts with the press pool.
“He started by asking the journalists for their first names, complimented them on their questions, cracked a joke, gave elaborate and colourful answers, threw in another joke, and then beamed as he walked out of the room,” he explained.
“He could easily have handled it all with a certain air of disdain. Press conferences aren’t exactly the most inspiring events—many footballers loathe them—but Tolu chose to simply be himself.
“This was no act. Sitting there was a brilliant, disarming man from Festac Town, Nigeria. Yet, what makes Tolu truly special isn’t just his personality; it’s his style of play.
“No other footballer in the Eredivisie is anything like him—not even remotely—as if this striker plays the game in an entirely different physical dimension. A sort of ‘Big Friendly Giant’ among mere mortals.”
He is even happy to put the Wolves man alongside some big names, like Nwankwo Kanu.
“That places him, almost automatically, in the same company as the likes of Nwankwo Kanu, József Kiprich, or Mariano Bombarda,” he concluded.
(They’re) strikers with a completely distinct, incomparable signature. The season is still young. Only in a few years’ time will we be able to truly gauge the full extent of Tolu’s impact.”
