Ex-PSV Defender: Arokodare Is Unstoppable At Ajax

Former PSV defender Jan Wuytens has offered high praise for Super Eagles striker Tolu Arokodare, highlighting why the Nigerian striker has successfully found his rhythm and started making waves at Ajax.

Following a difficult spell in the English Premier League with Wolverhampton Wanderers, Arokodare secured a loan move to Amsterdam.

Reflecting on his time working with the forward in Belgium, Wuytens in a chat with ajax1, explained that unlocking the 25-year-old’s full potential comes down to playing directly to his physical strengths.

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Wuytens pointed out that when teams lean into Arokodare’s unique physical profile, specifically by flooding the box with crosses, he becomes virtually unstoppable in the air.

Beyond his aerial threat and pace, Arokodare’s exceptional ability to hold up the ball allows midfielders and wingers to join the attack, making him a central focal point for Ajax’s system.

“Tolu has a very special profile, he is a unique boy”, Wuytens began.

“When he came, he had to get used to our way of playing. We played a kind of Ajax football, with high pressure. He had a really hard time with that at the beginning: constantly making those sprint meters in pressing.

“But in his second season, Tolu really got loose at Genk, also because we started using him much more in his power.

“We started training more on crosses, throwing balls in the box. There Tolu is just unstoppable. He is very good in air, and also quite fast, then you have to bring him into his strength.

“He himself also adapted better and better, especially to the pace of the game, because there are a lot of transition moments in Belgian football.

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“He’s a special boy. He has a kind of magic, that he can win everyone over at certain clubs. As a trainer, you really have to hit the right string with him, the perfect string, and you have to keep hitting it, to get him consistent. If you do that, you will get a killer on the field.

“That’s the game you have to play with him: you want to bring him into a certain structure, in which he can also be himself. That’s interesting. With us there have never been problems with being late or things like that. And in the end he really got going. He started scoring more and more, and we started using him better and better.

“He is holding the ball so strong that the rest can join. If you feed him with crosses, and people walking around him, he is a very interesting player”, Wuytens concluded.