Tolu Arokodare’s physical presence, aerial ability and strength have long made him a difficult striker to contain, but former KRC Genk assistant coach Jan Wuytens believes the Nigerian forward’s biggest weapon becomes even more dangerous when his strengths are properly utilised.

Arokodare is currently making an impression at Ajax, having emerged as an important attacking option for the Dutch giants.

Wuytens, who previously worked with the striker at Genk, has now offered an insight into the qualities that helped Arokodare develop during his time in Belgium.

According to the former Genk coach, Arokodare initially faced a significant challenge adapting to the demands of the team’s high-pressing style.

“When he arrived, he mainly had to get used to our style of play. We played a kind of Ajax football, with high pressure,” Wuytens said, as quoted by Ajax1.

“He really struggled with that at the beginning: constantly making those sprint meters while pressing.”

However, Arokodare gradually adapted, while Genk also began to understand how to get the best out of their physically imposing striker.

Wuytens explained that the club increasingly focused on supplying Arokodare with crosses, allowing him to use his strength and aerial ability closer to goal.

“We started training more on crosses, throwing balls into the box. Tolu is simply unstoppable there,” he said.

“He is a very good header, and also quite fast, so you have to bring out his strengths.”

That tactical adjustment helped Arokodare become increasingly influential. As he became more comfortable with the tempo and transition-heavy nature of Belgian football, his goal output also improved.

“He himself also adapted increasingly well, especially to the tempo of the game, as there are a lot of transition moments in Belgian football,” Wuytens added.

The former Genk assistant also highlighted another important aspect of Arokodare’s game — his ability to hold up the ball and bring teammates into play.

“He is so strong at holding onto the ball, allowing the rest to join in,” Wuytens explained.

For him, Arokodare is at his most effective when a team builds its attacking structure around those qualities, rather than trying to force him into a role that does not suit his natural game.

“If you feed him with crosses, and have players making runs around him, he is a very interesting player,” Wuytens said.

The former coach also described Arokodare as a player with a distinctive personality, saying coaches need to find the right approach to maintain his consistency.

“He has a kind of magic, that allows him to win everyone over at certain clubs,” Wuytens said.

“As a coach, you really have to strike the right chord with him, the perfect chord, and you have to keep striking it to keep him consistent. If you do that, you get a killer on the pitch.”

Wuytens also dismissed any suggestion that Arokodare caused disciplinary problems during their time together at Genk.

“With us, there have never been any problems with him being late or things like that,” he stressed.

Instead, his assessment centres on the importance of tactical understanding: giving Arokodare a clear role while allowing him to exploit the qualities that make him dangerous.

“That is the game you have to play with him: you want to put him into a certain structure, in which he can still be himself,” Wuytens said.

Arokodare’s development at Genk, therefore, appears to have been as much about finding the right tactical fit as it was about individual improvement.

Once the striker became more accustomed to the demands of the game and Genk began consistently playing to his strengths, his influence grew.

Now at Ajax, those same qualities strength, aerial ability, pace and hold-up play remain central to what makes the Nigerian forward such a difficult opponent for defenders.