Dutch giants Ajax are on the verge of signing Nigerian striker Tolu Arokodare from Wolverhampton Wanderers after the two clubs reportedly reached an agreement over a season-long loan move.

The Amsterdam club has identified the Super Eagles forward as its top attacking target and is now putting the finishing touches on the transfer.

According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Ajax have agreed to a loan deal that includes a €22 million option to buy, although the clause is not compulsory.

The Eredivisie club will reportedly pay a loan fee and cover the striker’s full salary during his stay in the Netherlands.
Only the final contractual details remain before the transfer is officially completed.
The move comes after a challenging period for Arokodare at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The 25-year-old found himself at the centre of controversy after reports claimed a confrontation occurred during training when the club’s new manager informed him that he was no longer part of the first-team plans.

Police in Casablanca have arrested a hotel employee suspected of stealing money from members of Nigeria’s Super Falcons during the team’s stay in Morocco ahead of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

The arrest was carried out by the judicial police in Casablanca’s Anfa district after several players reported that cash had gone missing from their rooms at the Marriott Hotel.

The incident came to public attention after Super Falcons forward Esther Okoronkwo revealed on social media that $700 had been stolen from her wallet.

Okoronkwo also alleged that several of her teammates discovered money missing from their rooms during the team’s stay.

The Super Falcons’ media officer later confirmed that the matter had been officially reported to the Moroccan authorities, who immediately launched an investigation.

According to a statement from Moroccan police, investigators identified a hotel employee as the prime suspect in the case.

A search conducted by officers led to the recovery of 10,000 Moroccan dirhams, an amount authorities believe represents the total sum stolen from the Nigerian players.

Police said the suspect allegedly exchanged the stolen U.S. dollars for the local currency before being apprehended.

The employee remains in police custody while investigations continue under the supervision of the public prosecutor’s office.

Despite the off-field distraction, the Super Falcons have continued their preparations for the 2026 WAFCON in Morocco.

Head coach Justine Madugu will lead the reigning African champions into their Group C opener against Malawi on Tuesday, July 28, before subsequent fixtures against Zambia and Egypt.

Nigeria enters the tournament seeking a record-extending 11th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations title while also targeting one of the four automatic qualification places for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Andrea Pirlo is currently the head coach of the UAE’s Dubai United
Andrea Pirlo has said he is no longer a candidate to coach the Italian national side following days of controversy over his ties to a Russian betting company.

His appointment as Italy’s next head coach had not been confirmed by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) yet was being treated as all but certain.

But over the weekend several Italian politicians criticised the FIGC’s choice, noting that Pirlo, 47, had taken up a role as global ambassador for Russia’s Fonbet last October.

The betting company has sponsored several sporting events involving veterans of Moscow’s war in Ukraine and has organised events in Russia at which Pirlo appeared alongside pro-Kremlin figures.

“Anyone who is or has been promoting Russia after 2022 should not hold national office,” said Carlo Calenda of the centrist Azione party.

“After learning last night that I am no longer a candidate for the Italian national team, I feel it is my duty to clarify some aspects,” Pirlo, a former Internazionale, Juventus, AC Milan and Azzurri midfielder, wrote in an Instagram post on Monday morning.

“Over the last few days I watched, with great bitterness, the debate that swirled around my name,” he said, adding that any “professional collaboration” he undertook in his capacity as coach for United FC in Dubai “was exclusively of a commercial and sporting nature”.

“To assign a political meaning to that collaboration means ascribing to me beliefs which I have never expressed and that do not belong to me,” Pirlo wrote.

Pina Picierno, a vice-president of the European Parliament, said at the weekend that Italian football “desperately needed a cultural, ethical and managerial revolution” but that the choice of Pirlo “goes in the exact opposite direction”.

In contrast, Pirlo was offered support by the Russian ambassador in Rome, Aleksey Paramonov, who said that it was “saddening” to note that, “despite [Pirlo’s] extraordinary contribution to world sport and to Italy’s image around the world, in your own country, you are now being ostracized”.

Scrutiny of Pirlo’s ties to Fonbet and Russia intensified last spring, when he took part in a Fonbet event held in Moscow, which saw him and former teammate Marco Materazzi sign autographs at Luzhniki Stadium.

Nationalist pro-Kremlin pop star Shaman, who has repeatedly expressed his support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine, also performed at the event.

At the time, Ukrainian skeleton slider Vladyslav Heraskevych – who was disqualified from the Winter Olympics over his helmet depicting fellow athletes killed in the war – noted the Luzhniki event had taken place on the same day as a large Russian attack on Ukraine.

Heraskevych also criticised Pirlo for appearing next to Russian footballer Artem Dzyuba, who in the wake of the war in Ukraine posted on social media that he was “proud to be Russian”.

“It’s sad to see childhood legends turn into moral bankrupts,” Heraskevych said.

The debate now risks engulfing new FIGC technical director Paolo Maldini, who has only been in post since 11 July and who Italian media say may resign over Pirlo’s failed appointment.

Maldini and his adviser, former AC Milan teammate Leonardo, were tasked with finding a new head coach to navigate Italy through a Nations League group that includes France, Belgium and Turkey in the autumn and then try to qualify for Euro 2028.

The Italian football community has been undergoing much soul-searching after the team failed to qualify for a third World Cup earlier this year. Italy’s loss on penalties to Bosnia-Herzegovina in April led to coach Gennaro Gattuso stepping down as well as a reshuffle of the FIGC echelons.

Earlier this month, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti were both unsuccessfully approached ahead of Pirlo.

According to Italian media, other names currently being considered are Antonio Conte and Roberto Mancini – who led Italy to Euro 2020 glory before failing to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar and unceremoniously stepping down from the Italy bench to coach Saudi Arabia.