AFCON 2025
Ajax Amsterdam have reached a full agreement to sign Tolu Arokodare on loan from English Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Fabrizio Romano confirming the deal on Monday. The Nigerian striker moves to Ajax for the 2026/27 season, with a buy option priced at just over €20 million.
Romano reports that the buy-option clause is not mandatory, giving Ajax the choice to make the move permanent next summer. The loan fee is already included in the agreed package, and Ajax will cover Arokodare’s wages in full for the season. Wolves have also secured a bonus tied to Ajax’s qualification for European competition.
The move ends a tense few weeks at Molineux. Arokodare fell out with the club’s coaching staff after refusing to leave the training pitch when told he would not train with the first team, a standoff that forced Wolves to cancel a session at Compton Park entirely. Extra security was reportedly brought in afterward to keep him away from the facility.
Ajax had marked Arokodare as a top priority target in recent days, moving quickly once his Wolves exit became inevitable. The Nigerian striker beats out competition from Fiorentina, Genoa, and Trabzonspor, all of whom had shown concrete interest earlier in the window.
Fiorentina’s pursuit in particular ended after the club used its final non-EU registration slot elsewhere.
The switch reunites Arokodare with regular football after a difficult debut season in England, where he managed just three goals and one assist in 33 league appearances as Wolves got relegated from the Premier League. He joined from Belgian side Genk last summer in a deal worth a reported €26 million.
At Ajax, he joins a rebuilt forward line alongside Brazilian striker Marcos Leonardo, with Kasper Dolberg expected to depart before the window closes. Standing at 1.97 metres, Arokodare offers a different physical profile up front, one Ajax believes adds a fresh dimension to their attack heading into the new Eredivisie season and possible qualification for the UEFA Conference League.
