Ajax Racing to Register Arokodare Before Deadline
Ajax have the striker they wanted. Now they just need the paperwork to keep up.
On Wednesday afternoon, the club submitted the work permit application for Tolu Arokodare, De Telegraaf reported, but journalist Mike Verweij warned it will be “a race against the clock.” The clock is already ticking loudly in Amsterdam.
The urgency is simple: Europe waits for no one.
Ajax all but killed off their Conference League qualifier against FK Vojvodina with a commanding 1-4 away win, one and a half feet already in the next round. They can finish the job on Thursday at the Johan Cruijff ArenA, where the return leg should be a formality rather than a fight.
Once that tie is officially wrapped up, the real scramble begins. By Wednesday evening, 5 August at the latest, Ajax must submit a fresh squad list to UEFA for the next qualifier, against either Shelbourne or Nomme Kalju. Inside the club, the hope is clear: Arokodare’s name has to be on that sheet.
Jordi Cruyff will spend the coming days watching his inbox as much as the training pitch. The moment the work permit lands, Ajax intend to register the Nigerian immediately for European duty. No delays, no second thoughts. They did not bring in a 1.97-metre centre-forward just to leave him in the stands.
And this is not only about continental nights.
Coach Míchel wants Arokodare available for the domestic opener as well. Ajax start their Eredivisie campaign away to PEC Zwolle on Sunday 9 August, and the plan is to have the new signing in the matchday squad from day one. For that to happen, Ajax must register him with the KNVB by 12:00pm on Friday 7 August.
Miss that deadline, and the new spearhead watches the first league game from afar. Hit it, and Míchel suddenly has a very different look to his front line.
The internal battle up top is already drawn. Arokodare will be fighting for minutes with Marcos Leonardo, the Brazilian brought in from Al-Hilal for just under twenty million euros. One is a towering presence who can bully defenders in the air, the other a sharp, penalty-box predator. For Ajax, that contrast is the point: two very different weapons for the same objective.
Wednesday also brought formal confirmation of Arokodare’s move from Wolverhampton Wanderers. Ajax have taken the striker on a one-season loan, paying a modest fee and securing an option to buy set at twenty million euros. It is a deal structured with conviction: try now, keep later if the fit is right.
The sporting plan is clear, the financial framework is in place. All that stands between Ajax and their new No 9’s debut is bureaucracy and time.
In a season where margins already feel tight, the outcome of this paperwork race could shape how Ajax start both at home and in Europe.
