Oladapo Afolayan

Afolayan joined Harrow St Marys at under-5 level and moved into the youth system at Chelsea at the age of nine, having turned down the chance of a rival offer from Arsenal.[4][5][6] He struggled with his short stature as a teenager and was restricted to playing as a winger.[5] He left Chelsea at the age of 14 so that academy football did not get in the way of his schooling.[7] At the age of 15, Afolayan moved to Canada and spent time in Toronto FC's reserve squad in League1 Ontario and the Premier Development League. Late in the 2015 season, he played for ANB Futbol in League1 Ontario.[8] He also played for the University of Toronto Varsity Blues, while in Canada.[9][10] He later said that despite being just 16 he "trained with the first team quite a bit and played with the likes of Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco".[6]

Afolayan returned to England at the age of 18 to study a civil engineering degree at Loughborough University. He spent time playing youth football at Barnet and Tooting & Mitcham United.[11] He went on to play for the Loughborough University football team whilst studying, scoring three goals in 11 appearances for the club in the Midland League.[12]

On 7 February 2017, Afolayan signed for National League club Solihull Moors; he had previously been on trial at Rochdale.[13] Four days after joining the Moors, Afolayan scored on his debut, scoring the final goal in a 3–0 win over Sutton United at Damson Park.[14] He scored four goals in 15 games in the 2016–17 season and turned fully professional at the club in the summer, switching his engineering degree at Loughborough University for an online course.[7] He also spent time at Jamie Vardy's V9 Academy.[15] On 27 January 2018, Afolayan scored in his final game for the club, in a 3–1 win against Dagenham & Redbridge.[16] Despite leaving the club half way through the campaign, he was Solihull's top-scorer for the entire 2017–18 season with 11 goals in 35 matches; Solohull ended the season in 18th place under the stewardship of Mark Yates.

On 1 February 2018, Afolayan signed a three-and-a-half year contract with Premier League club West Ham United.[17] On 31 January 2019, he joined League Two side Oldham Athletic on loan until the end of the 2018–19 season.[18] He made his Football League debut for the "Latics" in a 3–1 loss away to Bury on 23 February; he came onto the pitch as a 76th-minute substitute for Zak Dearnley.[19] In total he made four starts and six substitute appearances during his time at Boundary Park and said he learned a lot form working under manager Paul Scholes.[20]

He returned to League Two on a half-season loan with Mansfield Town on 29 August 2019.[21] He scored his first Football League goal on 12 October, in a 6–1 win over former club Oldham Athletic at Field Mill; he also won a penalty in the game.[22] Manager John Dempster "what impressed me was the distance he covered. He was pressing all over the pitch. He ran himself into the ground".[23]

On 23 January 2021, Afolayan made his debut for West Ham, appearing as a substitute and scoring in a 4–0 FA Cup win against Doncaster Rovers.[24]

Afolayan moved on loan to Bolton Wanderers on 1 February 2021.[25][26] Bolton have the option to make the deal permanent at the end of his loan.[27]