Tolu Arokodare
Nigerian footballer (born 2000)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Toluwalase Emmanuel "Tolu" Arokodare (ⓘ born 23 November 2000) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for EFL Championship club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Nigeria national team.
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Arokodare with Fulham in 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Toluwalase Emmanuel Arokodare[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 23 November 2000 | ||
| Place of birth | Festac Town, Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) | ||
| Position | Striker | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Wolverhampton Wanderers | ||
| Number | 14 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Kash Academy | |||
| International Sports Academy | |||
| Flying Sports Academy | |||
| Box2Box FC | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2023 | Valmiera | 32 | (22) |
| 2020–2021 | → 1. FC Köln (loan) | 10 | (0) |
| 2021–2023 | → Amiens (loan) | 55 | (14) |
| 2023–2025 | Genk | 95 | (36) |
| 2025– | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 33 | (3) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2025– | Nigeria | 10 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:38, 24 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 22:35, 16 November 2025 (UTC) | |||
Arokodare was the winner of the 2025 Ebony Shoe, awarded to the best player in Belgium representing an African country.[2]
Club career
During his youth in Nigeria, Tolu played for Kash Academy and Flying Sports Academy in Festac, as well as the Segun Odegbami International College and Sports Academy. He later joined the Box2Box FC academy in Surulere and had trials in Europe with SC Freiburg and Toulouse.
Valmieras
Tolu joined Latvian club Valmiera in June 2019.[3]
Loan to Köln
In September 2020, Tolu was loaned to German club 1. FC Köln for the 2020–21 season.[4] He made his professional debut in the Bundesliga on 26 September 2020, coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute for Sebastian Andersson in the 1–0 away loss to Arminia Bielefeld.[5]
Loan to Amiens
On 28 June 2021, Tolu joined Ligue 2 club Amiens on a two-year loan deal with an option to buy.[6]
Genk
On 31 January 2023, Tolu joined Belgian Pro League side Genk on a four-and-a-half-year deal,[7] scoring on his debut as substitute against Gent in a 3–2 away win. He was involved for the rest of the season in Genk's title challenge – the club sat third before the final day and needed a home win over league leaders Royal Antwerp to clinch the club their first title since 2019, allied with second-placed Union Saint-Gilloise dropping points to Club Brugge. With results going Genk's way going into stoppage time, Toby Alderweireld equalised in the 94th minute for Antwerp. The match ended in a 2–2 draw, denying Genk the crown.[8][9]
Tolu hit 20 goals in the 2024-25 Belgian Pro League season for Genk, earning him the Ebony Shoe as best player in Belgium of African extraction over teammate Zakaria El Ouahdi, Union-SG's Noah Sadiki and Promise David, and Club Brugge's Raphael Onyedika.[10][11] For that 2024–25 campaign, Genk had led the league from August to April, but a late-season slump of one point in six games during the championship play-offs saw them fall down to third.[12]
Wolverhampton Wanderers
On 1 September 2025, Tolu joined Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers on a four-year contract with the option of a further one year in a deal worth £23.4 million.[13] He scored his first competitive goal in Wolves' EFL Cup third round win over Everton on 23 September,[14] while his first Premier League goal came against Arsenal, where Wolves lost 2–1, on 13 December.[15]
Fans from various countries directed racial abuse at Tolu after he missed a first-half penalty in the 1–0 away defeat to Crystal Palace on 22 February 2026. Wolves have released a statement "condemning this abhorrent and unlawful behaviour in the strongest possible terms".[16]
On 20 July 2026, Wolves had to cancel their pre-season training session because Tolu, who was blocked from training with the rest of the squad under new manager Cesar Peixoto, refused to leave the training pitch. The next day, security was increased to prevent the player from entering the training ground.[17]
International career
Personal life
Arokodare was born in Festac Town in Lagos, Nigeria.[3]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 24 May 2026[22]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Valmiera | 2019 | Virsliga | 16 | 7 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 7 | ||
| 2020 | Virsliga | 16 | 15 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 17 | 15 | |||
| Total | 32 | 22 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 34 | 22 | |||
| 1. FC Köln (loan) | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| Amiens (loan) | 2021–22 | Ligue 2 | 35 | 8 | 5 | 5 | — | — | 40 | 13 | ||
| 2022–23 | Ligue 2 | 20 | 6 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 23 | 8 | |||
| Total | 55 | 14 | 8 | 7 | — | — | 63 | 21 | ||||
| Genk | 2022–23 | Belgian Pro League | 11 | 2 | — | — | — | 11 | 2 | |||
| 2023–24 | Belgian Pro League | 40 | 12 | 1 | 0 | — | 11[d] | 3 | 52 | 15 | ||
| 2024–25 | Belgian Pro League | 40 | 21 | 5 | 2 | — | — | 45 | 23 | |||
| 2025–26 | Belgian Pro League | 4 | 1 | — | — | 1[c] | 0 | 5 | 1 | |||
| Total | 95 | 36 | 6 | 2 | — | 12 | 3 | 113 | 41 | |||
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2025–26 | Premier League | 33 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 2 | — | 38 | 6 | |
| Career total | 223 | 73 | 19 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 3 | 257 | 88 | ||
- Includes Latvian Cup, DFB-Pokal, Coupe de France, Belgian Cup, FA Cup
- Appearance in UEFA Europa League
- Two appearances and two goals in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League, seven appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 16 November 2025[23]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2025 | 10 | 2 |
| Total | 10 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Arokodare goal.[23]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 June 2025 | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia |  Russia | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 6 September 2025 | Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria |  Rwanda | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
Honours
Individual
