By Oluwadamilola Olaleye
Wolverhampton Wanderers head coach Vitor Pereira has praised Nigerian striker Tolu Arokodare for his promising debut display, despite Wolves falling 1-0 to Newcastle United at St. James’ Park on Saturday.
Arokodare, who joined Wolves from Belgian side KRC Genk on transfer deadline day, had only one training session with his new teammates before being thrust into action. The 24-year-old arrived in England immediately after international duty with Nigeria, where he featured in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Speaking after the match, Pereira highlighted the striker’s physical presence and tactical importance to the squad.
“After, we need a striker. We had one training session with Tolu. He’s a different player, he’s physically strong, he gives us the possibility to play long balls and to hold this ball and to give time for us to appear,” Pereira told reporters.
While acknowledging that Arokodare was not yet at peak fitness, the Portuguese coach expressed optimism about his integration.
“He did well, of course he is not in the physical condition to do better. We spent the last two weeks working with eight players. It’s better to start with the players that stayed with me for a few days and try to prepare with eight for the match against Newcastle,” he added.
The defeat leaves Wolves still searching for their first league victory of the season, with Pereira’s men now hovering near the relegation zone. Their next opportunity to turn the tide comes against Leeds United at Molineux on Saturday.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
