‘Always Leave Him On’ – Boss Blasted For Substituting Wolves Loan Star | OneFootball

Naomi Baker/Getty Images

Former Dutch top-flight star Kees Kwakman has told Ajax boss Michel to always keep Wolves loanee Tolu Arokodare on the pitch, amid the Spaniard bringing him off at the weekend.

Wolves signed the Nigerian goal-getter from Belgian side Genk last summer by paying a €27m transfer fee, but the player failed to meet expectations and netted only three goals in his debut campaign.

The Midlands outfit were relegated following a disastrous season and this summer, under the stewardship of Cesar Peixoto, went through a major squad rebuild which saw some of the big names departing Molineux.

Arokodare was sought by several clubs during the recently finished transfer window and Turkish outfit Trabzonspor tried to sign him, with the player even asking for the opinion of his Nigerian international teammate Paul Onuachu regarding a move.

However, it was Dutch giants Ajax who managed to strike a deal with Wolves to secure the signature of Arokodare on a season-long loan and he has been in tremendous form since joining them, netting five goals and two assists in all competitions so far.

At the weekend, the Wolves star led the line for Ajax against PSV Eindhoven and despite the team trailing to an early goal from Ricardo Pepi, Arokodare brought his side back to the game with his 23rd-minute right-footed strike.

However, Ajax manager Michel substituted Arokodare on the 61-minute mark, with his side 2-1 down, to bring on Kasper Dolberg, and the game resulted in a 3-1 defeat.

Kwakman was not happy with Michel’s decision to substitute Arokadare and he stressed that the Spanish tactician should have kept the Wolves star on.

The former Dutch star believes that a player of Arokodare’s calibre should not be substituted in a game as the centre forward has the ability to frustrate opposition players with his movements.

When asked about whether he was able to understand Sanchez’s decision to take the Nigerian off, Kwakman was quoted as saying by Dutch outlet Voetbal Primeur: “No, I did not understand why Tolu was substituted. 

“Seven minutes into the second half, he made his first substitution and then made his second substitution seven minutes later and there was a lack of communication, because [Jorthy] Mokio then went down on the ground. 

“I think it is strange.

“And Tolu – you should always leave him on. 

“Did he not play the full 90 minutes against Telstar, after all? And yes, the intensity was higher. 

“I know that, but do you know how frustrating it is to play against him?”

The Wolves forward has managed to make an early impact in his new club and a former Ajax star hailed him as a colossus figure and backed him to score 25 goals in the league.