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Oladapo Afolayan joins German second-division club St Pauli from Bolton in a deal reportedly worth £500,000.
German second-division side, St Pauli have announced the signing of Nigerian winger Oladapo Afolayan from Bolton Wanderers.
The 25-year-old forward spent the last two years with Bolton where he was nicknamed the 'New Okocha' in reference to his more famous compatriot, Jay Jay Okocha who dazzled for Bolton.
Afolayan scored 21 goals and assisted 13 more in 101 games for Bolton whom he joined in February 2021 from West Ham initially on loan but the deal was made permanent after helping the club gain promotion from the English League Two to League One.
St Pauli signs Oladapo Afolayan
Afolayan has now left Bolton in the English third tier to join St Pauli in the German second tier as confirmed by the club on their official website.
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St Pauli and Bolton have agreed to not disclose the details of the transfer, even down to the length of the contract which remains unknown.
However, reports in Germany claim that St Pauli paid £500,000 to sign Afolayan who had 18 months left on his Bolton contract.
Afolayan was Bolton's top scorer last season with 14 goals and reigning player of the year but has found game time hard to come by before making the move to St Pauli.
Reactions to the move
"I'm happy to play for St. Pauli from now on. I think the team's style of play suits me," Afolayan said, expressing delight at the move.
The 25-year-old Nigerian forward continued, "the talks with club officials also convinced me that the club attach great importance to developing their players. I'm looking forward to my new team, a new league and the new challenge."
St Pauli head coach Fabian Hürzeler shared his thoughts, "we're gaining a very ambitious player in Oladapo. With his dynamism and dribbling ability, he has qualities in attacking duels but is also assured on the ball and in his passing. It's now a question of making sure he settles in quickly and brings his strengths to bear on the pitch."
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The club's director of sport Andreas Bornemann also said, "Oladapo fits our requirements profile very well and with his versatility will bring additional facets to our attacking game. He has already made lots of appearances in the professional game and always adapted to the next level. We're delighted to have convinced him to join us."
St Pauli are currently fifteenth in the German Bundesliga 2 with 17 points from 17 games so far and will be hoping Afolayan can help turn their season around.
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