Bolton Wanderers are preparing to face fellow League One opponents Portsmouth in tonight’s EFL Trophy.
Wanderers will be looking to make it into the last four of the competition, and one player who is sure to play an important role is attacker Dapo Afolayan.
It’s been a difficult season for the former West Ham United player as of now, with him finding his place in Ian Evatt’s side in jeopardy at times and his form for his club not being the same as previous campaigns.
The striker has missed the Trotters’ last two games in the league as he is serving a three-match ban for an elbow against Lincoln City. The suspension ends at the weekend as he serves his final game, but Afolayan can be recalled to the starting XI for tonight’s cup tie as the ban doesn’t apply to this competition.
As well as dealing with his suspension and his inconsistent form, the 25-year-old has also had to deal with ongoing transfer speculation, as the weeks leading up to the transfer window opening has seen Afolayan been the talk of interest.
Ahead of the game against Portsmouth, Bolton manager Ian Evatt was asked about this transfer speculation and of there was any concrete interest in the striker.
He told The Bolton News: “There are always rumours but there is nothing to speak of at the moment. Once again, I am just the custodian here, and everything I do I deem to be for the benefit of this football club. That is really all I have to say on it.”
November seemed to be a turning point for Afolayan as goals against Fleetwood Town, Barrow, and Manchester United’s under-21s saw the striker take his tally for the season to six. However, that form was slowed down as the recent incident against Lincoln occurred.
Evatt added: “Obviously he was disappointed with what happened and the way it happened. I understand his reasoning for that.
“But we have to own it, there was evidence, the FA found him guilty on it and we have to respect their decision. Of course, there is frustration but there are no issues with Dapo whatsoever.”
The Verdict
When players like Afolayan are on their game, they are always going to attract the attention of teams higher up the football pyramid.
There were several sides looking at the striker last season, and many Bolton fans may have expected the striker to depart the University of Bolton Stadium in the summer. However, that didn’t happen, and with his form being up and down so far this season, there will still be interest in the 25-year-old, but many interested clubs may hold out yet and see how the attacker has performed between now and the end of the season before making a move.