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Former Wanderers man Dapo Afolayan says he reached a point where he “could no longer progress” at the club.
Afolayan left the Whites to join German club St Pauli in the January transfer window for a fee around £500,000.
The former Chelsea youngster won the club’s Player of the Year award in the 2021/22 campaign after finishing as top scorer with 14 goals in all competitions.
But a change in system left the 25-year-old in limbo. Ian Evatt tried him as a number nine, a number 10 and even a left-wing back for a brief spell in an attempt to rediscover his best form.
Afolayan was a popular figure among Bolton supporters and only has positive things to say about his time in the North West.
But the wideman says both parties ultimately agreed that it would be best for him to move on and embrace a new challenge overseas.
“Sometimes things change quickly in football,” he told The Athletic. “The club and I both knew we were at a point where I could no longer progress, especially because of the way that we were playing at the time.
“The style changed. We didn’t play with wingers, and I’m a winger.”
Afolayan has made a promising start to life in Bundesliga 2, helping St Pauli climb to fourth place in the table.
The former West Ham man had an eventful game against Holstein Kiel several days ago, managing a goal and an assist before he was shown a second yellow card.
He was also on target in the wins against Greuther Furth and Sandhausen in a couple of months ago but will now miss the final game of the campaign against Karlsruher at the Millerntor-Stadion.
Afolayan says meeting with St Pauli boss Fabian Hurzeler played a key role in his decision to join the club.
“I could sense his excitement,” he added. “I thought that maybe, at 25, coming out here was a bit too late because a lot of British players come to Germany when they’re in the teens or early 20s.
“I just had a really good feeling about him. I feel that we were so similar in the way that we view football and the way we like to work. That’s a big thing for me.”
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