 Afolayan in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Oladapo Joshua Afolayan[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1997-09-11)11 September 1997 (age 28) | ||
| 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 | ||
| 2006–2011 | Chelsea | ||
| 2012–2015 | 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 | 86 | (15) |
| International career | |||
| 2017 | England C | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17:31, 1 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Oladapo Joshua Afolayan (born 11 September 1997) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as awinger orcentre-forward forBundesliga clubFC St. Pauli.
He spent his youth at a number of clubs: Harrow St Marys,Chelsea,Toronto FC,Barnet, andTooting & Mitcham United. He also played at the university level in Canada with theUniversity of Toronto Varsity Blues. After playing local football in Canada withANB Futbol, he played for English non-league clubsLoughborough University andSolihull Moors, before moving toPremier League club West Ham United. He had loan spells atOldham Athletic,Mansfield Town, andBolton Wanderers, with the latter move becoming permanent, before signing forFC St. Pauli.
He was also capped by theEngland C team.
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 atLoughborough University.[3]
Afolayan joined Harrow St Marys at under-5 level and moved into theyouth system atChelsea at the age of nine, having turned down the chance of a rival offer fromArsenal.[4][5][6] He struggled with his short stature as a teenager and was restricted to playing as awinger.[5] He left Chelsea at the age of 14 so that academy football did not get in the way of his schooling,[7] atMerchant Taylors School.[8]
At the age of 15, Afolayan moved to Canada and spent time inToronto FC's reserve squad inLeague1 Ontario and thePremier Development League. He later said that despite being just 16 he "trained with the first team quite a bit and played with the likes ofJermain Defoe,Michael Bradley,Jozy Altidore andSebastian Giovinco".[6] Late in the 2015 season, he played forANB Futbol in League1 Ontario.[9] He also played for theUniversity of Toronto Varsity Blues, while in Canada.[10][11]
Afolayan returned to England at the age of 18 to study a civil engineering degree atLoughborough University. He spent time playing youth football atBarnet andTooting & Mitcham United.[12] He went on to play for theLoughborough University football team whilst studying, scoring three goals in 11 appearances for the club in theMidland League.[13]
On 7 February 2017, Afolayan signed forNational League clubSolihull Moors; he had previously been on trial atRochdale.[14] Four days after joining the Moors, Afolayan scored on his debut, scoring the final goal in a 3–0 win overSutton United atDamson Park.[15] He scored four goals in 15 games in the2016–17 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 atJamie Vardy'sV9 Academy.[16] On 27 January 2018, Afolayan scored in his final game for the club, in a 3–1 win againstDagenham & Redbridge.[17] Despite leaving the club half way through the campaign, he was Solihull's top-scorer for the entire2017–18 season with 11 goals in 35 matches; Solihull ended the season in 18th place under the stewardship ofMark Yates.
On 1 February 2018, Afolayan signed a three-and-a-half-year contract withPremier League clubWest Ham United.[18] On 31 January 2019, he joinedLeague Two sideOldham Athletic on loan until the end of the2018–19 season.[19] He made hisFootball League debut for the "Latics" in a 3–1 loss away toBury on 23 February; he came onto the pitch as a 76th-minute substitute forZak Dearnley.[20] In total he made four starts and six substitute appearances during his time atBoundary Park and said he learned a lot form working under managerPaul Scholes.[21]
He returned to League Two on a half-season loan withMansfield 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 atField Mill; he also won a penalty in the game.[23] ManagerJohn 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 4–0FA Cup win againstDoncaster Rovers.[25]
Afolayan moved on loan toBolton 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 forLloyd Isgrove in a 1–1 draw againstMorecambe.[29] His first start came four days later in a 1–0 win againstStevenage.[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 againstCrawley Town, the win confirming Bolton's promotion toLeague 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 the2021–22 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 theclub's Player of the Year for the 2021–22 season.[36]
The 2022–2023 season saw Bolton changeformation. 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]
On 19 January 2023, Afolayan signed for2. Bundesliga sideFC 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] thoughThe Bolton News reported it was around £500,000.[38] On 12 May 2024, he scored a brace in a 3–1 win overVfL Osnabrück, which secured promotion of his club to theBundesliga for the first time since 2010–11.[44]
Afolayan won a cap forPaul Fairclough'sEngland C team on 8 November 2017, coming on as a 76th-minute substitute forFejiri Okenabirhie in a 4–0 defeat to eventualInternational Challenge Trophy winnersSlovakia U23.[45]
In April 2021, Afolayan was asked in theBolton Wanderersmatchday programme if he would consider playing forNigeria 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]
Afolayan can play as awinger[47] orcentre-forward.[48] West Ham Academy directorTerry 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 toJay-Jay Okocha due to the silky skills he produced whilst playing for them.[50] Afolayan enjoyed these comparisons and after scoring againstAFC Wimbledon did Okocha's signaturegoal celebration.[51]
| 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] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2020–21[25] | 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 | 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] | 31 | 9 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 34 | 10 | ||||
| 2024–25[59] | Bundesliga | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 | |||
| 2025–26[60] | 7 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 86 | 15 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 92 | 16 | ||||
| Career total | 255 | 51 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 288 | 58 | ||
FC St. Pauli
Individual
