Tolu steals the show at Ajax press conference: ‘Can everyone please be like Willem?’
Tolu Arokodare scored Ajax's opener in Thursday night's 2-0 Conference League win over Atalanta. After the match, an exchange with Willem Vissers of de Volkskrant at the press conference had the room laughing.
Introducing himself in English as 'William', Vissers takes the floor at the press conference. "I just want to say that you're an incredibly nice guy," begins the journalist, impressed by the Nigerian striker's modesty. "You don't have a big ego at all and you compliment other players. That's just wonderful."
Tolu thanks him warmly. "Thank you very much. God bless you," the forward replies, before turning to the other journalists with a broad smile: "Can everybody please be like William?" Another journalist jokes that Vissers has set the bar rather high for everyone else.
On his future, Ajax have Tolu on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers until the summer of 2027. The Amsterdam side also have an option to buy, reportedly for a fee of between €18 million and €20 million. "That's between Ajax and Wolves; I can't say anything about it," the striker replies when Mike Verweij of De Telegraaf asks about a longer stay in Amsterdam.
Pressed by Verweij on whether he would be open to a permanent move, Tolu makes his feelings clear: "Of course I'm open to it. I love it here. I love being here. The people are great, the supporters are great, the team are great, the club are great and you're all great. But William is even nicer," he jokes.
Discussing his goal against Atalanta, Tolu stresses the value of every Ajax player. "If you're an Ajax player, you're important anyway, whether you start or not. Even if you don't play, you're important because you help your team-mates improve in training," he explains. "I'm just happy I could help my team with the first goal and contribute to the win."
Against Atalanta, Tolu initially had to settle for a place on the bench, with Marcos Leonardo again preferred. "I'm a patient person. Of course everyone wants to play and start, but Leo played very well in the previous match and the coach felt he deserved to start," Tolu says. "He played well today too; he was just unlucky not to score. He tired the defenders out, which allowed me to benefit afterwards."
Tolu also dismisses the idea of a rivalry with Leonardo. "We don't compete with each other, because when you play in the same team, you can't compete with each other. If you fight against each other, you don't help each other and the team can't develop," the Nigerian says.
