Tolu Arokodare: Open to a permanent Ajax move, but at what price?

Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare says he is open to making his Ajax stay permanent after scoring in the Dutch club's first Conference League win, and he added that a pay rise would help.

The Nigerian forward came off the bench in the 66th minute against Atalanta on Thursday, scored in the 87th and set up Abdellah Ouazane for the second in the 93rd, in a 2-0 win at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. It was Ajax's first victory in the competition after their opening defeat to Hajduk Split.

Arokodare is at Ajax on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Pulse Sports Nigeria's weekend preview on 9 October put him at six goals and two assists in nine appearances for the club.

“And maybe increase my salary”: the press-conference answer

A journalist told Arokodare after the match that Ajax would only need to pay the reported €20m fee. His reply drew laughter, as Legit.ng reported:

“And maybe increase my salary.”

He then passed the question on to the clubs. “That's between Ajax and Wolves; I can't say anything about it. Tell that to Ajax,” he said, in comments Legit.ng credited to Livescore. On the idea of staying, he was warmer:

“Of course I'm open to it. I love it here. I've felt love here from day one.”

Analysis: the fee is only half of the question

The €20m figure came from a journalist's question, not from either club, so it is a reported number rather than an agreed price. Legit.ng adds that matching the wages Arokodare earns at Wolves could be hard for Ajax.

That leaves two separate negotiations: a fee between Ajax and Wolves, and a contract between Ajax and the player. His answers map onto them neatly. The first he left to the clubs. On the second he put down a marker, with a smile.

The timing helps his case. A striker who scores in the 87th minute and creates another in stoppage time, in only his second appearance in the competition, gives a club something to point to if it wants to buy. If Ajax do push for a permanent deal, the goals will be part of the argument and the wage bill the part that decides it.

It matters for Nigeria too. Eric Chelle's options behind Victor Osimhen are a live question, as Soccernet looked at when it asked whether George Ilenikhena offers a real alternative, and a forward scoring in Europe strengthens his claim whenever squads are named. Another Nigerian whose future is being discussed is goalkeeper Maduka Okoye.

For now, the decision sits with the two clubs, as the player himself put it.