Dapo Afolayan: Dreams Super Eagles Place

He has never hidden his desire to star for the country of his father even at the age-grade level. Now 24-years, and despite having played a game for the England Team C, Oladapo Afolayan cannot resist an opportunity to play for the Super Eagles   

Bolton Wanderers winger, Dapo Afolayan has expressed his desire to represent Nigeria internationally despite having played a game for the England Team C.

The 24-year-old is growing into a cult hero at the University of Bolton Stadium, drawing a comparison with the legendary Nigerian playmaking wizard

The Harrow-born forward is, however, aware that his chances are presently slim, with the quality of attackers that are in the Super Eagles’ ranks.

For this month’s international friendly against Mexico, the national team handlers invited nine forwards, including Feyenoord’s Cyriel Dessers, Leicester City’s Ademola Lookman, Almeria’s Umar Sadiq, and Villarreal’s Samuel Chukwueze.

Notable among those who missed out are Napoli’s Victor Osimhen, Genk’s Paul Onuachu, Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho, and Union Berlin’s Taiwo Awoniyi.

It would take something special for any player in England’s League One to earn a Super Eagles call-up at the moment.

However, Afolayan is evidently unique, and the former Chelsea schoolboy is not losing hope.

Blessed with great pace, silky skills, and a knack for scoring goals, Afolayan has been regularly compared with Super Eagles’ great Austin Jay-Jay Okocha by many Bolton Wanderers fans.

The 24-year-old recently confessed, in a chat with FourFourTwo (via Manchester Evening News), that it is an honour to be mentioned in the same breathe as one of the greatest Bolton players of all time.

He said: “I’ve always been a dribbler. I like to think I can glide past players and make decisions instinctively – it’s something I enjoy doing, especially when I can draw fouls and move us up the pitch.

“My family is Nigerian and I see myself as Nigerian, so Jay-Jay Okocha is someone I’ve looked up to my entire life – it was incredible to meet him when he visited this season. To be compared to him is an honour.”

Afolayan has stepped up his game even more this term, scoring 14 goals to scoop Bolton’s top goalscorer and Player of the Year awards.

And the former West Ham star’s attentions have expectedly turned to the international scene.

Afolayan reveals he had discussions with the Nigeria Football Federation when he was much younger regarding playing for one of the country’s youth teams.

He now has his eyes set on the Super Eagles, but he is the first to admit it would not be an easy task to get selected when the team is littered with elite attackers.

But Afolayan is convinced that persistence and hard work can open international doors for him in the not-too-distant future.

“I haven’t spoken to them (the NFF) recently but when I was at West Ham we talked for a bit about the younger age groups but it is one of those; there are a lot of top, top players out there,” Afolayan told Manchester Evening News.

“You look at the forwards that Nigeria have and they are all playing Serie A, Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, so hopefully my time will come but until then, I just have to keep working hard.” Afolayan joined Bolton Wanderers from West Ham United on a free transfer last year after first impressing on a loan spell.

Afolayan looked back on his first year as an official Wanderer and admitted it was a perfect time to join the club.

Twelve months ago, the twinkle-toed winger agreed a permanent move from West Ham, having already helped the Whites to promotion from League Two.

It has proved the perfect move as the 24-year-old rattled in 14 goals last season to earn himself the club’s player of the year award.

Looking back at the decision to leave the Hammers and find regular football last summer, Afolayan said things could hardly have gone better.

“For my age it was the right time to go – I’d felt it for a few years,” he said of the moving away from the London Stadium.

“When I joined West Ham, I was 20 and came from Solihull Moors in the National League and my ambition was always to play first team football. “It didn’t work out for a number of reasons, injuries, manager changes, all sorts, but again I just wanted to play first team and every window I was looking to get out on loan.

“When the opportunity to come to Bolton arrived I’d spoken to the manager about two or three days before the window closed and in my head it was done and dusted. I was buzzing because of everything I knew about the club, I just wanted to get here, play games, especially because when I arrived they were thick and fast.

“We went on an incredible run and then to come and build on it again, especially with the fans because we only saw a little bit of them towards the end of last year when we were almost up and had pockets of them at some games.

“It has been unreal this season, so for me, it was the perfect time to come here.”

Scottish Premiership outfit Rangers are currently keeping tabs on Afolayan ahead of the summer window.

The 24-year-old has enjoyed a successful first season as a permanent player for the Trotters, playing a huge part in their top-half finish this term following their promotion from League Two at the end of the 2020/21 campaign.

His progress hasn’t gone under the radar though with both Cardiff City and Fulham also thought to be monitoring his situation at this stage, though a move to the former seems unlikely considering Steve Morison is set to be working within a limited budget this summer.

Bottom of Form

The £1.5m-rated player may be in the Cottagers’ and Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side’s reach though if Ian Evatt’s side are prepared to let him go for a fee in that region, though that remains to be seen with the ex-West Ham man still having two years left on his contract at the University of Bolton Stadium.

For the player, this could be a great move because it will allow him to perform on a bigger stage, potentially enabling him to catch the eye of other sides across the UK and potentially Europe too, depending on how well he performs.