Tolu Arokodare

Tolu Arokodare

Personal information
Full name	Toluwalase Emmanuel Arokodare [1]
Date of birth	(2000-11-23) 23 November 2000 (age 24)
Place of birth	Festac Town, Lagos, Nigeria
Height	1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number	14
Youth career
	Kash Academy
	International Sports Academy
	Flying Sports Academy
	Box2Box FC
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2019–2023	Valmiera	32	(22)
2020–2021	→ 1. FC Köln (loan)	10	(0)
2021–2023	→ Amiens (loan)	55	(14)
2023–2025	Genk	95	(36)
2025–	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1	(0)
International career‡
2025–	Nigeria	5	(2)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 15 August 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 20:00, 6 September 2025

Toluwalase Emmanuel Arokodare (born 23 November 2000), commonly referred to as Tolu, is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Nigeria national team. He is the winner of the 2025 Ebony Shoe, awarded to the best African player in Belgium. ^[2]

Career

During his youth in Nigeria, Arokodare played for Kash Academy and Flying Sports Academy in Festac, as well as the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy. He later joined the Box2Box FC academy in Surulere, Lagos, and had trials with European clubs SC Freiburg and Toulouse.

Valmieras

Arokodare then joined Latvian club Valmiera in June 2019. ^[3]

Loan to Köln

In September 2020, Arokodare was loaned to German club 1. FC Köln for the 2020–21 season. ^[4] He made his professional debut for Köln in the Bundesliga on 26 September 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute for Sebastian Andersson in the away match against Arminia Bielefeld, which finished as a 1–0 loss. ^[5]

Loan to Amiens

On 28 June 2021, Arokodare joined Ligue 2 club Amiens on a two-year loan deal with an option to buy. ^[6]

Genk

On 31 January 2023, Arokodare joined Belgian Pro League side Genk on a permanent deal, signing a four-and-a-half-year deal, ^[7] scoring on his debut as substitute against Gent in a 3–2 away win.

Tolu was involved for the rest of the season in Genk's title challenge, and lying in third place heading into the final day, needed a home win over league leaders Royal Antwerp to clinch the club their first title since 2019, allied with second-placed Union Saint-Gilloise dropping points to Club Brugge. With results going their way going into stoppage time, Toby Alderweireld equalised in the 94th minute for Antwerp for a 2-2 draw, denying Genk the crown. ^{[8] [9]}

Tolu hit 20 goals in the 2024-25 Belgian Pro League season for Genk, earning him the Ebony Shoe as best player in Belgium of African extraction. Tolu beat teammate Zakaria El Ouahdi, Union players Noah Sadiki and Promise David as well as Club Brugge midfielder Raphael Onyedika to the honour. ^{[10] [11]} For that 2024-25 campaign, Genk had led the league from August to April, but a late-season slump of one point in six games during the title play-offs saw them fall from first to third. ^[12]

Wolverhampton Wanderers

On September 1, 2025, Tolu joined Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on a four-year contract with the option of a further one year in a deal worth £23.4 million. ^[13]

Personal life

Arokodare was born in Festac Town in Lagos, Nigeria. ^[3]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 August 2025

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup [a]		League Cup		Continental		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Valmiera	2019	Virsliga	16	7	1	0	—		—		17	7
	2020	Virsliga	16	15	—		—		1 [b]	0	17	15
	Total		32	22	1	0	—		1	0	34	22
1. FC Köln (loan)	2020–21	Bundesliga	10	0	1	0	—		—		11	0
Amiens (loan)	2021–22	Ligue 2	35	8	5	5	—		—		40	13
	2022–23	Ligue 2	20	6	3	2	—		—		23	8
	Total		55	14	8	7	—		—		63	21
Genk	2022–23	Belgian Pro League	11	2	—		—		—		11	2
	2023–24	Belgian Pro League	40	12	1	0	—		11 [c]	3	52	15
	2024–25	Belgian Pro League	40	21	5	2	—		—		45	23
	2025–26	Belgian Pro League	4	0	—		—		1 [b]	0	5	0
	Total		95	35	6	2	—		12	3	112	40
Career total			194	71	16	9	0	0	13	3	223	83

1. Includes Latvian Cup, DFB-Pokal, Coupe de France, Belgian Cup
2. Appearance in UEFA Europa League
3. Two appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

As of match played 6 September 2025

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Nigeria	2025	5	2
Total		5	2

International goals

Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Arokodare goal.

List of international goals scored by Tolu Arokodare

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	6 June 2025	Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia	Russia	1–1	1–1	Friendly
2	6 September 2025	Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria	Rwanda	1–0	1–0	2026 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Individual

• Belgian Pro League top scorer: 2024–25(shared)^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. "2025/26 Premier League squad lists". Premier League. 12 September 2025. Retrieved 12 September 2025.
2. "Tolu Arokodare wins the 34th Ebony Shoe". KRC Genk . 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
3. Babatunde, Ojora (23 July 2020). "The first word I said was goal – Toluwalase Arokodare". OJB Sport. Archived from the original on 23 July 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
4. "FC verpflichtet Tolu Arokodare" [FC signs Tolu Arokodare]. FC.de (in German). 1. FC Köln. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
5. "Germany » Bundesliga 2020/2021 » 2. Round » Arminia Bielefeld – 1. FC Köln 1:0". WorldFootball.net. 26 September 2020. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
6. "TOLUWALASE AROKODARE EST AMIÉNOIS!" (in French). Amiens SC. 28 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
7. "JONGE NIGERIAAN AROKODARE (22) KOMT GENKSE VOORHOEDE VERSTERKEN" (in Dutch). K.R.C. Genk. 31 January 2023. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
8. "Royal Antwerp win first Belgian title in 66 years after Toby Alderweireld's stoppage-time equaliser". BBC. 4 June 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
9. "Alderweireld earns Royal Antwerp first Belgian league title in 66 years". The Guardian . 4 June 2023.
10. "Racing Genk-spits Tolu Arokodare wint de Ebbenhouten Schoen" [Racing Genk striker Tolu Arokodare wins the Ebony Shoe]. Het Laatste Niewus (in Dutch). 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
11. "Genkse goalgetter Tolu wint na sterk seizoen de Ebbenhouten Schoen: "Trots dat ik in de geschiedenisboeken beland"" [Genk goalgetter Tolu wins the Ebony Shoe after a strong season: "Proud to be in the history books"]. Sporza (in Dutch). 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
12. "Will Downing on X". X. 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
13. "Wolves have completed the signing of Genk attacker and Nigeria international Tolu Arokodare on a four-year deal with a 12-month option". Wolverhampton Wanderers . 1 September 2025. Retrieved 1 September 2025.

External links

• Tolu Arokodare at kicker (in German)
• Tolu Arokodare at Soccerway