Ajax Races to Register Arokodare for European and Eredivisie Matches

Ajax have the striker they wanted. Now they just need the paperwork to catch up.

On Wednesday afternoon, the club filed the crucial work permit application for Tolu Arokodare, according to De Telegraaf. It sounds routine on paper. It is anything but. Journalist Mike Verweij has already called it “a race against the clock”, and he is not exaggerating.

The timing could hardly be tighter.

Ajax all but killed off their Conference League qualifier with that emphatic 1-4 win away to FK Vojvodina, a result that leaves them with “one and a half feet” in the next round. The job should be finished on Thursday at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, where the second leg is expected to be a formality rather than a firefight.

But the real tension lies beyond that final whistle.

Once this tie is wrapped up, Ajax must hand UEFA a fresh squad list for the next qualifying round, where Shelbourne or Nomme Kalju await. The deadline is brutal: Wednesday evening, 5 August. By then, Ajax want Arokodare not just in Amsterdam, not just in training gear, but officially registered and eligible to play.

Jordi Cruyff will be watching the calendar as closely as the training pitch over the coming days. If the work permit drops in time, Ajax intend to move instantly, registering the Nigerian forward for European duty at the first possible moment.

And Europe is only half the story.

Coach Míchel also wants the 1.97-metre striker available for the Eredivisie opener away to PEC Zwolle on Sunday 9 August. For that to happen, Ajax must complete a second administrative sprint: Arokodare has to be registered with the KNVB by 12.00pm on Friday 7 August. Miss that cut-off and the new signing will be watching the league start from the stands.

Inside the club, the hope is clear: get every form signed, every box ticked, well before those deadlines so Míchel can unleash his new No 9 immediately.

Arokodare will not walk into a free role. Up front, he is set for a direct battle with Marcos Leonardo, the Brazilian brought in from Al-Hilal for just under twenty million euros. It is a contrast in profiles and pedigrees that could define Ajax’s attack this season: the towering Nigerian target man against the sharp, penalty-box predator.

What is not in doubt is that Ajax have committed to Arokodare’s potential.

On Wednesday, the club confirmed his arrival from Wolverhampton Wanderers on a one-season loan. The deal comes with a modest loan fee and, crucially, an option to buy set at twenty million euros. For a player still to kick a ball for the club, that is a significant statement of faith.

Now everything hinges on the slowest part of modern football: the paperwork.

The transfer is done. The need is obvious. The fixtures are looming. Ajax have their striker. The question is whether the clock will let them use him when it matters most.