Dapo Afolayan: Nigerian forward moves to St Pauli from Bolton Wanderers 

By Wale Mustapha

Top German side, St. Pauli have completed the signing of Nigerian born striker, Dapo Afolayan from English club, Bolton Wanderers.

Afolayan has signed a long term deal with the German second division club for transfer worth half a million pounds.

The 25-year-old scored 16 goals in 87 league appearances for Bolton since he joined the club National League side from West Ham in January 2021.

St Pauli are currently 15th in the 18-team Bundesliga II and are expected to get back to action this weekend after two-month.

Bolton Wanderers coach Ian Evatt has described Oladapo as a special player who has added more quality to the club but admitted its a good step in right direction for the young player to move on to bigger stage.

“He played a big part in our climb back up the league placing and created a lot of special memories,” Evatt told the club website.

St Pauli had at least two previous bids turned down for the 25-year-old, who had 18 months left on his contract and had signalled his desire to play at a higher level.

Interest from elsewhere in England failed to meet Bolton’s valuation, and it is also understood that a rival League One club also offered to loan Afolayan for the rest of the season.

Afolayan will team up with another Nigerian player in Afeez Aremu who has being a mainstay in the team for two seasons.