Ajax have reached an agreement with Wolverhampton Wanderers to sign Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare on loan, Soccernet.ng reports.
Arokodare’s transfer to the Eredivisie giants gives the Super Eagles forward the chance to rebuild his career after a difficult season in England.
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the Dutch club will take the 25-year-old on an initial season-long loan and will have the option to make the move permanent for €22 million plus performance-related add-ons. The purchase clause is not compulsory, meaning Ajax can decide at the end of the campaign whether to complete the transfer.
As part of the agreement, Ajax will pay a loan fee to Wolves and will cover 100 percent of Arokodare’s wages throughout his stay in Amsterdam. The deal also contains additional bonuses, with Wolves set to receive another £500,000 (€600,000) if Ajax qualify for European competition while the Nigerian striker is at the club.
The move ends weeks of speculation surrounding Arokodare’s future after interest arrived from several clubs across Europe. Italian sides Fiorentina and Genoa were both linked with the striker at different stages of the transfer window, while Turkish club Trabzonspor also explored a deal. However, Ajax eventually won the race after making the Nigerian their top attacking target.
The Eredivisie giants accelerated negotiations after Fiorentina’s proposed move collapsed, allowing them to secure an agreement with Wolves before the start of the new season. Ajax are signing a physically dominant centre-forward who can boost their ambition to challenge for the Dutch title and return to competing strongly in Europe.
Journeyman Arokodare gets another opportunity at Ajax
Arokodare arrives in Amsterdam hoping to rediscover the form that made him one of Belgium’s most feared strikers. Standing at 1.97 metres (6ft 6in), the powerful forward has built a reputation for his aerial ability, hold-up play and finishing inside the penalty area during a career that has taken him across five European countries.
His European journey began with Latvian club Valmiera, where he announced himself by scoring 22 goals in 34 appearances between 2019 and 2021. That form earned him a loan move to Bundesliga side FC Köln, but the step up proved too early as he made 11 appearances without scoring before returning to continue his development.
The Nigerian then rebuilt his confidence in France with Amiens, scoring 21 goals and providing four assists in 63 matches across two seasons. Those performances convinced Belgian club Genk to sign him in January 2023 as the successor to fellow Nigerian striker Paul Onuachu.
It was in Belgium that Arokodare enjoyed the best spell of his career. Across 113 appearances, he scored 41 goals and added 12 assists, while his outstanding 2024-25 campaign produced 21 league goals and 23 in all competitions, finishing as the Belgian Pro League’s top scorer. His performances attracted attention from several top European clubs before Wolves secured his signature for around €27 million in 2025.
His time at Molineux, however, never matched expectations. Arokodare managed 38 appearances, six goals and two assists across all competitions, including only three Premier League goals, as Wolves struggled throughout the campaign before suffering relegation to the Championship.
Reports also claimed his relationship with the club deteriorated following a disciplinary incident during pre-season, when he allegedly refused to leave the pitch after being left out of a first-team training session, forcing Wolves to cancel the remainder of the day’s activities. Whether those events directly influenced his departure or not, both player and club have now chosen to move in different directions.
Ajax will hope the Nigerian can rediscover the confidence and goalscoring touch that made him Belgium’s Golden Shoe winner. If he returns to that level in the Eredivisie, the Amsterdam club may have little hesitation in activating their €22 million purchase option at the end of the season.
