Oladapo Afolayan
Oladapo Joshua Afolayan (born 11 September 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club West Ham United.
![]() Afolayan playing Solihull Moors in 2017 | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Oladapo Joshua Afolayan[1] | ||
Date of birth | 11 September 1997 | ||
Place of birth | Harrow, England | ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[2] | ||
Playing position(s) | Forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | West Ham United | ||
Number | 40 | ||
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) |
2016–2017 | Loughborough University | 11 | (3) |
2017–2018 | Solihull Moors | 45 | (15) |
2018– | West Ham United | 0 | (0) |
2019 | → Oldham Athletic (loan) | 10 | (0) |
2019–2020 | → Mansfield Town (loan) | 6 | (1) |
National team | |||
2017 | England C | 1 | (0) |
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:08, 4 July 2020 (UTC) |
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 continue his schooling in Canada, but returned to England to study at Loughborough University. 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.[3][4][5] He struggled with his short stature as a teenager and was restricted to playing as a winger.[4] He left Chelsea at the age of 14 so that academy football did not get in the way of his schooling.[6] At the age of 15, Afolayan moved to Canada and spent time in Toronto FC's reserve squad as well as playing for Toronto Varsity Blues.[7] 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".[5]
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.[8] 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.[9]
Solihull Moors
On 7 February 2017, Afolayan signed for National League club Solihull Moors; he had previously been on trial at Rochdale.[10] 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.[11] 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.[6] He also spent time at Jamie Vardy's V9 Academy.[12] On 27 January 2018, Afolayan scored in his final game for the club, in a 3–1 win against Dagenham & Redbridge.[13] 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; Solohull 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.[14] On 31 January 2019, he joined League Two side Oldham Athletic on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[15] 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.[16] 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.[17]
He returned to League Two on a half-season loan with Mansfield Town on 29 August 2019.[18] 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.[19] Manager John Dempster "what impressed me was the distance he covered. He was pressing all over the pitch. He ran himself into the ground".[20]
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.[21]
Style of play
Afolayan is a forward; 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".[22]
Career statistics
- As of match played 12 November 2019
Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Loughborough University | 2016–17[9] | Midland League Premier Division | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 3 |
Solihull Moors | 2016–17[23] | National League | 15 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 4 |
2017–18[23] | National League | 30 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | 0 | 35 | 11 | |
Total | 45 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 50 | 15 | ||
West Ham United | 2018–19[24] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2019–20[25] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
Oldham Athletic (loan) | 2018–19[24] | League Two | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 0 |
Mansfield Town (loan) | 2019–20[25] | League Two | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[lower-alpha 2] | 0 | 8 | 1 |
Career total | 72 | 19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 79 | 19 |
- Appearance/s in the FA Trophy.
- Appearance/s in the EFL Trophy.
References
- "Notification of shirt numbers: Mansfield Town" (PDF). English Football League. p. 41. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- "Oladapo Afolayan Stats, News, Bio". ESPN. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- "Oladapo Afolayan". West Ham United F.C. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Academy Spotlight: Oladapo Afolayan | West Ham United". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- "From Toronto to Solihull: the rise of Solihull Moors striker Dapo Afolayan". Solihull Observer. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- Evans, Chris (16 February 2018). "Dapo Afolayan: The forward who turned down Chelsea for non-league". The Set Pieces. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- "Dapo Afolayan". Ontario University Athletics. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Solihull Moors boss Liam McDonald delighted to secure former Chelsea kid Oladapo Afolayan". Solihull Observer. 10 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Total Motion Midland Football League". Football Association. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Moors bolster strikeforce". Solihull Moors F.C. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Solihull Moors 3–0 Sutton United". BBC Sport. 11 February 2017. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Oladapo Afolayan | West Ham United". www.whufc.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- "Dagenham & Redbridge 1–3 Solihull Moors". BBC Sport. 27 January 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "West Ham snap up forward Oladapo Afolayan". West Ham United F.C. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Afolayan joins Oldham Athletic on loan". West Ham United F.C. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Bury 3–1 Oldham Athletic". BBC Sport. 23 February 2019. Retrieved 23 February 2019.
- "Afolayan: I can't wait for the first pre-season test | West Ham United". www.whufc.com. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- "Oladapo Afolayan: Mansfield Town sign West Ham United forward on loan". BBC Sport. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- "Mansfield Town 6-1 Oldham Athletic: Dino Maamria 'bemused' at double sending off". BBC Sport. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- Owen, Danny (14 October 2019). "'Huge asset': West Ham loanee Dapo Afolayan shines in Mansfield thrashing". HITC. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- "Slovakia 4-0 England C". www.thefa.com. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- "West Ham snap up forward Oladapo Afolayan | West Ham United". www.whufc.com. 1 February 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- Oladapo Afolayan at Soccerway
- "Games played by Oladapo Afolayan in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
- "Games played by Oladapo Afolayan in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
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