The AFCON tournament can cause managers quite a few headaches with some of their top stars heading off to the competition, but Rob Edwards and Wolves have now been handed a boost.
Players selected for the tournament are set to miss at least three games, and if their nation progresses past the groups, they will miss more.
It is a blow for many teams, whose top players come from the African continent, and Wolves had five players who were expected to fly out.
However, that number has shrunk after one nation announced their official squad for the competition.
Tolu Arokodare not in Nigeria squad
The AFCON squads are starting to come in as the tournament continues to draw closer.
Tawanda Chirewa and Emmanuel Agbadou have been confirmed as part of their nation’s squad. With Marshall Munetsi being excluded due to this recent injury.
But one Wolves player has now received bad news.
The Nigerian national team have announced their official selections, and the Wanderers striker Tolu Arokodare has not been selected.
Tolu Arokodare is not included in Nigeria’s AFCON squad. Is now the chance for him to permanently take Jorgen Strand Larsen’s place in Wolves’ team?
Let us know below, who should Wolves first-choice centre-forward be and why?
The 25-year-old was part of the preliminary roster, but he has not made the final cut.
This means that Wolves will now only be without two players after Jackson Tchatchoua was also excluded from his nation’s squad.
Chance for Tolu Arokodare to make himself Wolves’ first choice
With Tolu Arokodare set to stay in England over December and January, the Nigerian has a chance to make himself the Old Gold’s first-choice centre-forward.
The poor form of Jorgen Strand Larsen opens that door, and if he had been chosen for AFCON, he would not have been given that chance.
While the player will be disappointed he is not representing his nation at Africa’s premier tournament, the opportunity to cement himself within the Wolves squad is a positive to take away.
Fans have been growing impatient with the Norwegian up front and the only other option to replace him is Arokodare.
It’s not been an easy start to life in English football for Tolu, but now is the time to showcase the qualities he has.
Wolves need their forwards to start scoring goals, and Rob Edwards will be delighted he has both his options available over the festive period.
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