The admission Tolu Arokodare made about Vitor Pereira may surprise some Wolves fans

Tolu Arokodare referenced Vitor Pereira following Wolves’ defeat to Crystal Palace, giving a verdict that may surprise one or two.

Tolu Arokodare was handed a rare start at the weekend as Rob Edwards took his first game in charge.

Sadly, it was more of the same from Wolves, who lost 2-0 at Molineux, with goals coming from Daniel Munoz and Yeremy Pino in the second-half.

Wolves played well for an hour or so, but the first goal from Palace was a killer, and it quickly led to a second from the lively Pino.

Before the game, fans were pleased to see Edwards change things up a bit, and do something plenty have been clamouring to see, which was to start Arokodare and Jorgen Strand Larsen together.

Arokodare will certainly hope for more starts under Edwards, but it’s fair to say there are no ill feelings towards his predecessor.

Tolu Arokodare says he respects former Wolves manager Vitor Pereira

Arokodare was Wolves’ final signing of the 2025 summer window.

He joined the club in a £24 million deal from Belgian side Genk, and the hope was that he would ease the goalscoring burden on Strand Larsen.

But it’s been a bit of a frustrating start so far for Arokodare.

He has been one of the least-used players in the squad up to now, and before his sacking Pereira was very faithful to Strand Larsen.

Before Saturday, he’d started just twice in the Premier League.

Despite spending a lot of time warming the bench though, Arokodare showed his class referencing Pereira at the weekend.

He said: “I cannot say too much because I also have respect for the previous manager as it was a tough period for him.”

It is perhaps slightly surprising that Arokodare said this, considering how little he played amid Strand Larsen’s struggles. But seemingly, he and Pereira must have had a good relationship.

• READ MORE: What Oliver Glasner responded with when asked about full-time chat with Wolves’ Tolu Arokodare

Arokodare set for more involvement under Rob Edwards

It was perhaps telling that Edwards turned to Arokodare right off the bat on Saturday.

Clearly, the Nigerian made a good early impression on the new manager and was therefore rewarded with a rare start.

And it seems Edwards liked what he saw as he praised Arokodare after the defeat. He said: “Tolu’s done really well this week for us, and I’ve liked him, and I thought he worked extremely hard today.

“We’ll get more from him the fitter he gets. He’s not at full power I don’t think quite yet. But he worked really, really hard for the hour or so that he was on.

“I’m looking forward to getting more from him. I think he believes in what we’re trying to do. If we can get them right at it, you wouldn’t want to play against those two.”

That verdict surely points to greater involvement for Arokodare.

It’s just a case of whether he’ll come in as a partner for Strand Larsen, or in place of the misfiring Norwegian.