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Marciano Vink has been hugely impressed by Tolu Arokodare at Ajax. One moment in particular caught the analyst's eye during Saturday evening's 1-5 win over Fortuna Sittard, with Vink arguing it showed the Nigerian offers far more than just height and strength.
On ESPN's Dit was het Weekend, Vink points to a first-half moment involving the Ajax striker. "That chance for Tolu when he brings it down on his chest, pulls the ball back and then shoots with his left: that is really very clever."
What really stands out to Vink is the blend of technique and physical power. "In such a small space, for such a big and strong lad... He brushes aside two or three men with ease, but also controls a ball very easily. It's a shame that the ball doesn't get the right elevation, because otherwise it's the goal of the year."
"He struck it with the outside of his foot, which made the ball bend away. But that whole move reveals so much footballing class," said the former player. Kenneth Perez then asks Vink whether he had expected Tolu to make such a strong impression at Ajax. "No, I didn't expect that." Perez admits that Tolu is also exceeding his expectations for the time being.
"I didn't expect him to stamp his mark on things so immediately from the start," Vink continues. "He's actually quite a good footballer for such a strong, big player."
Even so, Vink is not completely satisfied with the striker yet. He still sees room for improvement, especially in the air. "His heading can still get a bit better. Sometimes I think: you could have headed that better. There were also headers that he should at least have got on target."
Against Fortuna, Tolu had several chances and struck the bar with a header just after the hour mark. Thilo Kehrer turned in the rebound for 1-2, after which Ajax pulled clear and eventually wrapped up a convincing 1-5 win through Davy Klaassen, Kasper Dolberg and Youri Baas.
Elsewhere, Vink also liked plenty of what he saw from Ajax as a team. The analyst felt they pressed Fortuna well and switched play quickly at the right moments. "Ajax were on top of them everywhere. If you switch play with these kinds of balls, you basically tear an entire defence open and immediately put the winger one-on-one."