Dapo Afolayan

Dapo Afolayan

Afolayan playing for Solihull Moors in 2017
Personal information
Full name	Oladapo Joshua Afolayan [1]
Date of birth	(1997-09-11) 11 September 1997 (age 27)
Place of birth	Harrow, England
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) [2]
Position(s)	Winger, centre-forward
Team information
Current team	FC St. Pauli
Number	17
Youth career
2002–2006	Harrow St Marys
2006–2013	Chelsea
2013–2015	Toronto FC
2015–2016	Barnet
2016	Tooting & Mitcham United
College career
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014	Toronto Varsity Blues	11	(1)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2015	Toronto FC III
2015	ANB Futbol
2016–2017	Loughborough University	11	(3)
2017–2018	Solihull Moors	45	(15)
2018–2021	West Ham United	0	(0)
2019	→ Oldham Athletic (loan)	10	(0)
2019–2020	→ Mansfield Town (loan)	6	(1)
2021	→ Bolton Wanderers (loan)	21	(1)
2021–2023	Bolton Wanderers	66	(15)
2023–	FC St. Pauli	63	(14)
International career
2017	England C	1	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 January 2025

Oladapo Joshua Afolayan (born 11 September 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or centre-forward for Bundesliga club FC St. Pauli.

He spent his youth at a multitude of clubs: Harrow St Marys, Chelsea, Toronto FC, Barnet, Tooting & Mitcham United and Toronto Varsity Blues. He left the Chelsea academy in order to concentrate on his GCSEs. He moved to Canada with his family but returned to England to study civil engineering at Loughborough University. ^[3] He signed with Solihull Moors in February 2017 and scored 15 goals in 50 appearances, winning a move to Premier League club West Ham United 12 months later; he was also capped by the England C team. He spent the second half of the 2018–19 season on loan at Oldham Athletic and the first half of the 2019–20 campaign on loan at Mansfield Town.

Club career

Early career

Afolayan joined Harrow St Marys at under-5 level and moved into the youth system at Chelsea at the age of nine, having turned down the chance of a rival offer from Arsenal. ^{[4] [5] [6]} He struggled with his short stature as a teenager and was restricted to playing as a winger. ^[5] He left Chelsea at the age of 14 so that academy football did not get in the way of his schooling, ^[7] at Merchant Taylors School. ^[8]

At the age of 15, Afolayan moved to Canada and spent time in Toronto FC's reserve squad in League1 Ontario and the Premier Development League. He later said that despite being just 16 he "trained with the first team quite a bit and played with the likes of Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco". ^[6] Late in the 2015 season, he played for ANB Futbol in League1 Ontario. ^[9] He also played for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, while in Canada. ^{[10] [11]}

Afolayan returned to England at the age of 18 to study a civil engineering degree at Loughborough University. He spent time playing youth football at Barnet and Tooting & Mitcham United. ^[12] He went on to play for the Loughborough University football team whilst studying, scoring three goals in 11 appearances for the club in the Midland League. ^[13]

Solihull Moors

On 7 February 2017, Afolayan signed for National League club Solihull Moors; he had previously been on trial at Rochdale. ^[14] Four days after joining the Moors, Afolayan scored on his debut, scoring the final goal in a 3–0 win over Sutton United at Damson Park. ^[15] He scored four goals in 15 games in the 2016–17 season and turned fully professional at the club in the summer, switching his engineering degree at Loughborough University for an online course. ^[7] He also spent time at Jamie Vardy's V9 Academy. ^[16] On 27 January 2018, Afolayan scored in his final game for the club, in a 3–1 win against Dagenham & Redbridge. ^[17] Despite leaving the club half way through the campaign, he was Solihull's top-scorer for the entire 2017–18 season with 11 goals in 35 matches; Solihull ended the season in 18th place under the stewardship of Mark Yates.

West Ham United

On 1 February 2018, Afolayan signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with Premier League club West Ham United. ^[18] On 31 January 2019, he joined League Two side Oldham Athletic on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season. ^[19] He made his Football League debut for the "Latics" in a 3–1 loss away to Bury on 23 February; he came onto the pitch as a 76th-minute substitute for Zak Dearnley. ^[20] In total he made four starts and six substitute appearances during his time at Boundary Park and said he learned a lot form working under manager Paul Scholes. ^[21]

He returned to League Two on a half-season loan with Mansfield Town on 29 August 2019. ^[22] He scored his first Football League goal on 12 October, in a 6–1 win over former club Oldham Athletic at Field Mill; he also won a penalty in the game. ^[23] Manager John Dempster "what impressed me was the distance he covered. He was pressing all over the pitch. He ran himself into the ground". ^[24]

On 23 January 2021, Afolayan made his debut for West Ham, appearing as a substitute and scoring in a 4–0 FA Cup win against Doncaster Rovers. ^[25]

Bolton Wanderers

Afolayan moved on loan to Bolton Wanderers on 1 February 2021. ^{[26] [27]} Bolton had the option to make the deal permanent at the end of his loan. ^[28]

His debut came on 9 February, when he came on as a substitute for Lloyd Isgrove in a 1–1 draw against Morecambe. ^[29] His first start came four days later in a 1–0 win against Stevenage. ^[30] He scored his first goal for Bolton on the final day of the season, scoring Bolton's second goal in a 4–1 win against Crawley Town, the win confirming Bolton's promotion to League One. ^[31]

On 27 May 2021, Afolayan signed a permanent three-year contract with Bolton, ^{[32] [33]} after Bolton activated the option clause in the loan agreement. ^[34]

Afolayan started off the 2021–22 EFL League One campaign in excellent form, scoring six goals in the opening eleven games and was voted as Bolton's Player of the Month for both August and September 2021. ^[35] He finished the season with 14 goals, making him Bolton's leading scorer, and he was voted as the club's Player of the Year for the 2021–22 season. ^[36]

The 2022–2023 season saw Bolton change formation. In addition to that, as well as new signings playing well, his playing time became limited with Bolton trying to play him in various different positions to no avail. ^{[37] [38]} As a result, in January 2023, Afolayan was the subject of transfer bids from multiple clubs, ^{[39] [40]} with it being confirmed that Afolayan would leave the club and they would be able to cope without him. ^[41]

FC St. Pauli

On 19 January 2023, Afolayan signed for 2. Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli after originally having three bids rejected by Bolton Wanderers, their fourth bid finally meeting Bolton's valuation. ^{[37] [42] [43]} The fee was undisclosed, ^[37] though The Bolton News reported it was around £500,000. ^[38] On 12 May 2024, he scored a brace in a 3–1 win over VfL Osnabrück, which secured promotion of his club to the Bundesliga for the first time since 2010–11. ^[44]

International career

Afolayan won a cap for Paul Fairclough's England C team on 8 November 2017, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute for Fejiri Okenabirhie in a 4–0 defeat to eventual International Challenge Trophy winners Slovakia U23. ^[45]

In April 2021, Afolayan was asked in the Bolton Wanderers matchday programme if he would consider playing for Nigeria and he stated "Yeah I would. It's something I've thought about and hopefully I can keep playing well and get on their radar." ^[46]

Style of play

Afolayan can play as a winger ^[47] or centre-forward. ^[48] West Ham Academy director Terry Westley said that he is an "interesting player" who is "aggressive, has great pace and the knack of scoring goal". ^[49] Bolton Wanderers fans compared him to Jay-Jay Okocha due to the silky skills he produced whilst playing for them. ^[50] Afolayan enjoyed these comparisons and after scoring against AFC Wimbledon did Okocha's signature goal celebration. ^[51]

Career statistics

As of match played 6 December 2023

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League cup [b]		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Toronto FC III	2015 [52]	Premier Development League	10	1	—		—		—		10	1
Loughborough University	2016–17 [13]	Midland League Premier Division	11	3	0	0	—		0	0	11	3
Solihull Moors	2016–17 [53]	National League	15	4	0	0	—		0	0	15	4
	2017–18 [53]	National League	30	11	3	0	—		2 [c]	0	35	11
	Total		45	15	3	0	0	0	2	0	50	15
West Ham United U21	2020–21 [25]	–	—		—		—		4 [d]	0	4	0
West Ham United	2018–19 [54]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2019–20 [55]	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2020–21 [25]	Premier League	0	0	1	1	0	0	—		1	1
	Total		0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	1	1
Oldham Athletic (loan)	2018–19 [54]	League Two	10	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	10	0
Mansfield Town (loan)	2019–20 [55]	League Two	6	1	0	0	0	0	2 [d]	0	8	1
Bolton Wanderers (loan)	2020–21 [25]	League Two	21	1	—		—		—		21	1
Bolton Wanderers	2021–22 [56]	League One	44	12	2	0	1	0	4 [d]	2	51	14
	2022–23	League One	22	3	1	0	2	1	4 [d]	2	29	6
	Total		66	15	3	0	2	1	8	4	80	20
FC St. Pauli	2022–23 [57]	2. Bundesliga	16	3	—		—		—		16	3
	2023–24 [58]	2. Bundesliga	15	2	2	1	—		—		17	3
	Total		31	5	2	1	—		—		33	6
Career total			200	41	9	2	3	1	16	4	228	48

1. Includes FA Cup, DFB-Pokal
2. Includes EFL Cup
3. Appearances in FA Trophy
4. Appearances in EFL Trophy

Honours

FC St. Pauli

• 2.Bundesliga  : 2023–24

Individual

• Bolton Wanderers Player of the Year: 2021–22 ^[36]

References

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29. "Bolton Wanderers 1-1 Morecambe". BBC Sport.
30. "Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Stevenage". BBC Sport.
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34. "DAPO AFOLAYAN | Forward after joining in permanent switch from West Ham United" – via www.youtube.com.
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