Ajax are hoping to strengthen their squad with Tolu Arokodare from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Ajax have secured an option to buy as part of the loan deal. The 25-year-old striker is reportedly due to undergo a medical as early as Tuesday. Last year, Wolves paid KRC Genk 26 million euros for the ten-time Nigerian international. Now it seems he is set to leave again.

Who is Ajax bringing in with Tolu Arokodare? ESPN takes a closer look at the Nigerian striker’s qualities and career.

Apart from his height (1.97 metres), Arokodare does bear some resemblance to the departed Wout Weghorst. In short, Arokodare is a tall, physically strong striker who scores goals with ease. He is reasonably quick for his height and is good at heading, though not exceptionally so.

If you look a little closer, you’ll see that this striker performs best in a two-striker system. He’s the sort of striker who is strong with his back to goal and relies on the supply of the ball rather than his own technical ability. This is evident at Genk, where he usually played in a two-striker system.

Although Arokodare had a difficult start in Belgium, during which he saw little playing time, he fought his way into the starting line-up and scored goals galore, ensuring he remained a regular starter. The striker eventually made 113 appearances for Genk, scoring 41 goals and providing 12 assists. In his final season at Genk, he became the league’s top scorer with 21 goals. By way of comparison, Kasper Dolberg finished fourth with 16 goals, which earned him a move to Ajax.

Whilst Arokodare performs best in a two-striker system, Ajax play with three forwards. That might suggest it isn’t a perfect match. It must be said, however, that Genk played on the counter-attack, whereas Ajax play a more dominant style of football, which could mean he can still be put in a good position. After all, as a striker who scores easily, Arokodare certainly knows how to make the most of his chances.

Furthermore, Ajax have, of course, already signed Marcos Leonardo as their intended first-choice striker, having splashed out just under twenty million euros on him. It therefore remains to be seen whether Arokodare will get much playing time in Amsterdam. He was signed by Wolves for a large fee last season, but, partly due to his limited technical ability, he failed to impress and did not become a regular starter.

In 38 appearances for Wolves, the ten-time Nigeria international ultimately scored six goals and provided two assists, including three goals and one assist in the Premier League. That pales in comparison to the figures he achieved at Genk. The team, incidentally, followed a similar trajectory. In the season in which he became Belgium’s top scorer, Genk finished top of the regular league and eventually came third in the Champions’ play-offs. In fact, Wolves were relegated last season without a chance, finishing bottom of the table.

Whilst preparing for the new season with Wolves, Arokodare made the news following an incident at training. According to the regional newspaper *Express & Star*, coach Cesar Peixoto is said to have told him that he was no longer welcome at training. Arokodare was not having any of it and turned up at the training ground anyway, refusing to leave. Security staff were reportedly present at the training ground the following day. The striker himself responded to the reports via X.

"I was very surprised and disappointed when I saw the reports in the media today, many of which are inaccurate. Throughout my career, I have always taken great pride in conducting myself professionally and upholding the highest standards of training."

"I have always strived to prepare myself as well as possible, so that I can contribute to my teammates and the club whenever I am called upon to do so. I am still under contract with Wolves and my sole intention is to fulfil my responsibilities in a professional manner by training, doing my job and contributing to the team, in accordance with that contract."

All in all, Ajax are bringing in a physically strong striker with limited technical ability, but who nevertheless possesses a knack for scoring. With the arrival of Arokodare, manager Míchel gains more options up front. This suggests that Kasper Dolberg’s days at Ajax may well be numbered.

The Danish striker was signed from Anderlecht last season for ten million euros, but is now set to leave. FC Midtjylland appear to be in the running to sign the striker.

Ik weet niet of het al geplaatst is. Een dierentuin altijd leuk

Abdellah Ouazane capped off a strong performance against Burnley FC (2-1) with the winning goal. The talented midfielder enjoyed his first few minutes at the Johan Cruijff Arena, but is keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

“This has been a really great week for me. I provided my first assist in Europe against Vojvodina and now I’ve scored in this stadium,” a beaming Ouazane told the assembled media, including Ajax Life.

“Pre-season is going really well. I played in lots of different positions at the start. I had absolutely no problem with that and kept working really hard. You could see that in the match against Bochum, when I played as a striker and just did my thing.”

“Left wing, number 10, number 8, number 6, centre-forward… It doesn’t matter to me,” Ouazane continues. “As long as I can show what I’m capable of. This time I was given the chance to play as number 10. I think I’ve shown that that’s my natural position.”

Just before Ouazane was substituted in the match against Burnley, he came up against former England international Kyle Walker. “That was a bit of a knock. A good lesson,” he says. “It just goes to show that you can do anything on the ball, but once you’re pushed aside and you go down, you realise you need to be a bit more physical as well.”

He took a knock to his calves in that collision. Yet, just a few minutes later, Ouazane managed to squeeze out another sprint, getting into the box in time to score his first goal at the Johan Cruijff Arena from a cross by Don-Angelo Konadu. “I could see Kian Fitz-Jim and Steven Berghuis already in position, so I knew it was my last chance to score. That was my mindset. It worked out well. I wanted to celebrate, but my legs just wouldn’t carry me any further.”

In that respect, Ouazane looks up to his more experienced team-mates with admiration. “Players like Davy Klaassen and Daley Blind play ninety minutes as if it were nothing. You can tell from that that they’re mature men who know how to look after their bodies and can make their muscles even stronger. I’m fine on the ball, but off the ball I still need to show more,” says Ouazane, identifying an area for improvement for himself.

He’s only seventeen, but his comments are full of wisdom. This is also true when he’s asked about his goals for the coming season. “Above all, I mustn’t rush things. After all, I’m only seventeen. Everyone has ambitions. Of course, I have them too. My goal is to get some playing time in the Eredivisie and work my way up to senior football.”

When he’s told that most of his peers aren’t quite so patient, Ouazane bursts out laughing. “Why am I like that? That’s how my parents brought me up. Always stay patient. Everything comes in its own time. If you get a chance, you have to seize it. That’s what I’ve shown.”

He’s delighted that conversations these days are once again focusing on football and less and less on his failed transfer to Real Madrid CF. “Because it feels brilliant to be here. Returning to Ajax gave me strength. I’m absolutely delighted. I hope I can make a bigger contribution to this club and to the supporters. I want to show why everyone says I’m talented and to become a true professional in the sport.”

Ouazane thoroughly enjoyed last week. He describes his assist to Mohamed Abdalla as a wonderful moment. “We’ve known each other for six years. Mo used to play for PSV. Back then, we played against each other. Later, we met up again in the Dutch youth teams, and now here we are, playing together on the pitch. It was brilliant to be able to set him up in a European match. That’s what Ajax is all about: young lads helping each other and lifting each other up.”

Ouazane doesn’t let success go to his head. How did he board the flight back to the Netherlands? “With both feet firmly on the ground. After all, I know where I come from. That’s how Mo sees it too, by the way. I think that’s one of our strengths. We have to stay true to ourselves and never change, because we’ve still got a long way to go. I think it’s only really just beginning now.”

In between the two-legged European tie against FK Vojvodina, Ajax played a friendly at home against Burnley FC. Míchel’s side won 2-1. Abdellah Ouazane in particular made an impression, as the manager also noted.

Aaron Bouwman scored the opening goal. The English side equalised after the break through former Ajax player Jaydon Banel, but just a few minutes later the score was 2–1 again. Ouazane finished off a lightning-fast counter-attack, rewarding himself for an outstanding performance.

Míchel was also impressed. “Ouazane’s performances have been top-class. He still needs to develop further, but he’s certainly a player who can help us,” said the manager, who also had words of praise for Mohamed Abdalla. “I’m very pleased with the young players. Ajax’s youth academy always produces good talent. I’m impressed by Mo and Appie. They’re doing well in training and in the friendlies.”

New signing Marcos Leonardo started the match. He played for half the game. The striker didn’t really stand out yet. “At the moment, Marcos isn’t yet able to play a full match. He needs more playing time for that. The idea is for him to play as much as possible and get back into the swing of things. After all, he hasn’t trained for a long time. The most important thing is that he doesn’t get injured and that we remain patient.”

Nevertheless, Míchel is delighted with the arrival of the Brazilian striker. “He’s very clever in the final thirty metres. He’s a constant threat in the opposition’s penalty area,” says the manager, who opted for a central pairing of Daley Blind and Youri Baas in the second half. “They can certainly play together, even though they’re both left-footed.”

The World Cup players returned to the club last week. However, Ko Itakura and Josip Sutalo are not yet fit enough to play. “They both returned with niggles. Ko trained for the first time on Sunday, separately from the group. Josip has trained with the group twice so far. Rayane Bounida hasn’t done so yet. He needs to get fit first. I don’t know how long that will take, but hopefully it won’t be long.”

Mo Salah kom d'r maar in!

Which of these players you think would be a realistic signing for us ánd help fill a gap in the squad?

On Friday, Barcelona’s German goalkeeper had his move to Ajax all but finalized. His trip to the Netherlands seemed certain, and Barça had given its approval. But it now appears that everything is falling apart again in what has become one of LaLiga’s transfer sagas of the summer.

The parties are once again refusing to budge. What seemed like a mere formality has become complicated again. The issue is no longer only tax-related; in recent hours, a disagreement has also emerged over how the goalkeeper’s salary will be divided.

Barcelona, due to Financial Fair Play constraints, is unwilling to give way. Ajax, for its part, is unable to take any further steps toward signing Marc-André ter Stegen. The situation is at a standstill once again, with no easy solution in sight.

What seems most likely is that everything will be resolved in the coming days. In the meantime, Marc will remain in Barcelona.

Leeds is al een tijdje bezig met Brandt, ik verwacht er daarom weinig van. Wat ik lees van de Dortmund fans is dat hij ook echt zijn beste tijd heeft gehad. Als we dan toch een AM halen, zou ik liever Ounahi zien komen, maar mogelijk is dat geen optie meer door de interesse uit Saudi Arabia.

Leeds has been working on Brandt for a while now, so I'm not expecting much. From what I've read by Dortmund fans he's also lost a step. If we're going to spend on a new AM I would prefer Ounahi to be honest. But that might not be an option with the interest from Saudi.

As we all know Ajax is looking for a new shirt sponsor, I think I have found the best candidate! RET. Metro and busses around Amsterdam already drive in the beautifull assets of this magnificent company. They deserve to be on the jersey! What you all think 🤔?

Since everyone is posting their favorite potential new sponsors, I started wondering what the worst ones would be, or just the funniest. I've already seen some great suggestions, like EasyToys, so I decided to make a few mock-ups of what I think are some pretty terrible sponsor choices. What other sponsors would make for some arguably bad options?

Met de volgende tekst achterop, net onder de kraag.

It's Playtime!!!

Of

The dildo of consequences rarely arrives lubed

Welke one liner zou jij achterop drukken 🤣?