By Amaechi Agbo
After weeks of speculation and training tension with the coach, Super Eagles and Wolves striker Tolu Arokodare has joined Dutch giants Ajax on loan for the 2026-27 season with the Eredivisie club having the option to make the deal permanent next summer.
The deal, which was officially finalized on Wednesday, 29 July 2026, includes a €22 million (£17 million) option to buy at the end of the campaign. The high-profile transfer follows a highly publicized pre-season training ground standoff between Arokodare and Wolves management
The Nigeria international recently forced a Wolves training session to be called off after reportedly refusing to leave the pitch following. The move comes on the heels of major administrative and squad tension at Molineux
On 20 July 2026, new Wolves manager César Peixoto instructed Arokodare to train separately from the first team. Desperate to force a move away following Wolves’ relegation from the Premier League, Arokodare reportedly sat on the training pitch and refused to leave.
The standoff forced Peixoto to completely cancel that day’s first-team training session. The club subsequently deployed additional security to bar Arokodare from the premises and dropped him from the pre-season traveling squad.
Arokodare denied that he refused to train and said in a statement posted on social media: “Throughout my career, I have always taken great pride in conducting myself professionally and maintaining the highest training standards.”
Ajax confirmed the deal in a statement.
“Ajax has reached an agreement with Wolverhampton Wanderers regarding the loan signing of Tolu Arokodare. The 25-year-old striker joins Ajax on a one-season loan deal until the summer of 2027. The agreement includes an option to buy for Ajax.
“Welcome to the club, Tolu!”, the club said.
The 25-year-old moved to Molineux in a £24m deal from Genk on a four-year contract in September 2025 after scoring 31 league goals in 79 appearances for the Belgian side.
But he could not replicate that success in the Premier League, finding the net just three times in 33 games as Wolves were relegated to the Championship.
The striker was also disciplined in April following a confrontation with fellow forward Mateus Mane.
Ajax finished fifth in the Eredivisie last term and will play in the Europa League Conference this season, provided they come through the play-offs.
The 6-foot-6 forward will be looking to rediscover the prolific goal-scoring form that originally prompted Wolves to buy him for £24 million in 2025, after a tough English campaign where he managed only six goals in 38 total appearances.
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