Bolton Wanderers winger Dapo Afolayan has admitted that the prospect of featuring regularly at senior level played a role in his decision to initially move to the club on a temporary basis earlier this year.

Following a loan stint at the club last season, the 24-year-old opted to call time on his spell with West Ham United in May as he signed a three-year deal with the Trotters.

Whilst Afolayan only managed to provide three direct goal contributions during the second-half of the previous campaign for Bolton, he has gone from strength-to-strength in the opening stages of the new term.

After scoring in the club's 3-3 draw with AFC Wimbledon, the winger backed up this display with a strike against Oxford United.

Particularly impressive during last Saturday's clash with Ipswich Town, Afolayan bagged a brace for his side as they sealed a 5-2 victory at Portman Road.

With the Trotters set to face Rotherham United this weekend, the winger will be determined to add to his goal tally at the University of Bolton Stadium.

Making reference to his switch to Bolton, Afolayan has now revealed that it was a pretty straightforward decision to join the club.

Speaking to The Athletic (as cited by Inside Futbol), the winger said: “I’m a realistic person and having been at the club [West Ham] for three years and not being as close to the first team as I needed to be, I came to a point in my head where I knew I had to look elsewhere to get first-team football."

“Towards the end of the window, it became clear to me that Bolton were interested.

“Once I heard that I said to my dad and my agent that it would be good to get something sorted.

“The manager, Ian Evatt, phoned and said where he wanted me to play and his vision for the club.

“It was pretty much straightforward from there.”

The Verdict

It could be argued that Afolayan made the correct decision to join Bolton on loan as he was able to make considerable strides in terms of his development by featuring regularly for the club last season.

Currently thriving under the guidance of manager Ian Evatt, the winger is averaging an incredibly impressive WhoScored match rating of 7.84 in League One.

Afolayan is also averaging 3.1 shots per game, 2 key passes per game and 2.7 successful dribbles per match.

Providing that he is able to maintain his consistency in the coming months, the former West Ham man could potentially help Bolton achieve a great deal of success in the third-tier.