Oladapo Afolayan plans crunch talks with David Moyes over West Ham United future

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Oladapo Afolayan has revealed to The Bolton News that he plans to have crunch face-to-face talks with David Moyes to see if he has a future at West Ham United.

The Irons prospect left the London Stadium on loan in the winter transfer market to join Bolton Wanderers, and proved to be a huge hit as Ian Evatt’s side secured their automatic promotion into League One on the final day of the season.

Evatt has long insisted that he is keen for the winger to remain at the UniBol long-term, having been delighted with Afolayan’s impact and lauded the 24-year-old as being ‘breathtaking’, despite receiving some rough treatment by Carlisle United’s players.

Bolton can seal a free transfer for Afolayan if his future is not back with the Premier League Hammers as the forward is set to be out of contract this summer, but he has not yet given up hope of forging a career with the club he joined from non-league in 2018.

“I am not too sure yet. I need to sit down [and speak with Moyes],” said Afolayan. “I said to everyone that I would wait until the end of the season and help Bolton get promoted, re-assess my options [and] see what happens.

“I need to go back to West Ham and have a conversation with them, but everything is on the table, it’s a case of seeing how it goes.”

Afolayan started 19 of his 21 League Two appearances with Bolton after moving to the fourth-tier outfit in the winter, and provided Evatt’s side one goal and two assists having opened his account on the final day of the season during a 4-1 win at Crawley Town.

TBR’s view:

Moyes afford Afolayan his senior West Ham debut in the FA Cup against Doncaster Rovers in January, yet the fourth round tie would be his only appearance in claret and blue before joining Bolton and could well prove to be his last.

The forward may have put the icing on his debut with Afolayan scoring West Ham’s fourth in the closing stages of the London Stadium affair, but likely would have needed to score and create goals prolifically in the fourth-tier to convince Moyes that he is worth bringing back.

Afolayan will not be expected to sit on the market for long – beyond the option of staying at Bolton – having dazzled in League Two, even if the goals and assists were not always there, and can still enjoy a good career in the lower tiers if Premier League football is not in reach.