View Full Version : Jonathan Afolabi F Cambuur (loan from KV Kortrijk) b.2000
Eirambler
11/07/2022, 10:48 AM
That would be a very good outcome for him given the level he has been playing his football at in the Scottish lower leagues. Similar to Connell getting a move to Barnsley.
While neither were good enough to play first team football at Celtic it's very disappointing that the club weren't able to get them loan moves to the English leagues rather than having them playing at a level that would be the equivalent of non-league in England.
Olé Olé
11/07/2022, 1:15 PM
That would be a very good outcome for him given the level he has been playing his football at in the Scottish lower leagues. Similar to Connell getting a move to Barnsley.
While neither were good enough to play first team football at Celtic it's very disappointing that the club weren't able to get them loan moves to the English leagues rather than having them playing at a level that would be the equivalent of non-league in England.
The loan point is the saddest indictment of the whole thing, yep. The two lads would have been so much better going directly from Southampton and Bolton to Portsmouth and Barnsley respectively.
It's funny about the level. In a vacuum, Portsmouth would never consider signing or giving a trial to a lad with 8 goals in 50 odd games in Scottish Championship/League One. Obviously his pedigree and maybe a connection with Southampton helped - even though they are rivals there is geographical proximity there that surely lends itself to the odd cross-pollination. But he must be training and playing well in pre-season to get the deal (assuming he does).
pineapple stu
11/07/2022, 1:28 PM
That would be a very good outcome for him given the level he has been playing his football at in the Scottish lower leagues.
It'd be a great move considering he didn't even do all that well on those loan moves (as Olé Olé says). He's 22 now - 23 in Jan - so you wonder if things don't work out at Portsmouth, where does he go after that? I don't know at what stage do you get to saying a player won't make it at a level that'll trouble international football.
Still, if he's impressed on trial, that's certainly a start.
Jd2793
11/07/2022, 1:35 PM
It'd be a great move considering he didn't even do all that well on those loan moves (as Olé Olé says). He's 22 now - 23 in Jan - so you wonder if things don't work out at Portsmouth, where does he go after that? I don't know at what stage do you get to saying a player won't make it at a level that'll trouble international football.
Still, if he's impressed on trial, that's certainly a start.
i'll take LOI in 12 months. pompey fans talking about him being brought in as a squad player. cant see the boy being an international player unfortunately
Eirambler
11/07/2022, 6:58 PM
The best hope for someone like Afolabi is that he might be a late bloomer and hit his stride in his mid 20s. He wouldn't be the first if he did. I'm not saying that's what I think will happen, it's probably more likely that he becomes a lower league footballer or returns to Ireland in a couple of years.
Demesne Lad
13/07/2022, 1:14 PM
Having had a look at Jonathan Afolabi over 5 days in Spain - and despite his scoring in a pre-season friendly - Portsmouth won't be taking their interest any further (The News, Portsmouth, 13 July).
Demesne Lad
22/07/2022, 9:29 PM
Has reportedly been on trial with Forest Green Rovers (www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk, 21 July).
Jd2793
05/08/2022, 5:02 PM
i'll take LOI in 12 months. pompey fans talking about him being brought in as a squad player. cant see the boy being an international player unfortunately
just the 11 months and 1 week out
Jd2793
05/08/2022, 5:13 PM
in all seriousness good that hes took to step to come here for consistent minutes. he was spinning his wheels in scotland on those loan moves and he wasnt really effecting any games from bits i saw. as stu says above hes 22 and a bit now, no reason why a successful loi spell doesnt earn him a move somewhere by time hes 24 or something. wont entertain any ideas of him representing ireland again just hoping he can get his club career back on track.
Razors left peg
05/08/2022, 5:17 PM
in all seriousness good that hes took to step to come here for consistent minutes. he was spinning his wheels in scotland on those loan moves and he wasnt really effecting any games from bits i saw. as stu says above hes 22 and a bit now, no reason why a successful loi spell doesnt earn him a move somewhere by time hes 24 or something. wont entertain any ideas of him representing ireland again just hoping he can get his club career back on track.
I agree that I dont think hes an international player but even at this stage its impossible to rule it out. If he goes well at Bohs like Georgie Kelly for example he could get a decent move back across and you never know from there. If you had told me that the Dundalk Georgie Kelly would be a Championship player Id have laughed in your face.
Eirambler
05/08/2022, 5:26 PM
I did think the Portsmouth link was surprising when he got the trial there. To be honest his next move after Bohs could as easily be down the food chain as up the way, he has it all still to prove.
tetsujin1979
08/02/2023, 11:18 AM
Two articles on Afolabi in today's Independent
That dream, playing for Ireland, will always be there, insists Bohemians ace Jonathan Afolabi (https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/league-of-ireland/that-dream-playing-for-ireland-will-always-be-there-insists-bohemians-ace-jonathan-afolabi-42332565.html)
Jonathan Afolabi reveals why he chose not to report racist abuse during games in Ireland (https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/jonathan-afolabi-reveals-why-he-chose-not-to-report-racist-abuse-during-games-in-ireland-42332957.html)
Predator
10/02/2023, 2:16 PM
I know he plays it down in the interview, but Celtic does seem to be a risky place for young players to go, not just Irish players. The experience of Luca Connell also springs to mind. The pressure on them to win the league every year means less tolerance for allowing players time to grow into the team and coaches are less inclined towards experimentation.
tetsujin1979
29/12/2023, 11:18 AM
Signs for Belgian side KV Kortrijk
https://www.kvk.be/nieuws/eerste-winteraanwinst-voor-kvk/
Olé Olé
29/12/2023, 12:07 PM
Signs for Belgian side KV Kortrijk
https://www.kvk.be/nieuws/eerste-winteraanwinst-voor-kvk/
Hard to know what to make of this move. Seems like they have an American owner (Kaminski) who bought the club from Vincent Tan, the Cardiff City owner, this year. But they have no manager and a rookie, Joseph Akpala, is caretaking for his second spell. He is an ex Nigeria international so at least he has that connection with Afolabi who has Nigerian players.
They are 5 points adrift at the bottom of the table but I don't think anyone gets automatically relegated for finishing bottom, rather the bottom 4 enter a relegation play off.
They appear to play with wing backs and can end up playing with either one or two central strikers so, even if they have a big squad, hopefully he gets opportunities. Isaak Davies, a loanee from Cardiff, has played a lot recently up top. At 5 foot 9, he represents a different profile of player to Afolabi I would imagine. They have, however, an experienced 6 foot 5 Uruguayan called Avenatti. Not that Afolabi is that size or reliant on size but he does seem to have that central striker profile to me when I see him play, albeit that is probably how Bohs wanted him to play.
pineapple stu
20/01/2024, 5:13 PM
On the bench tonight as the Belgian league resumes after the Christmas break. They're currently 1-0 up away to Standard Liege.
He made his debut and they got the win. I really enjoy having an Irish interest in as many leagues as possible.
They've got a home game against 2nd from bottom on Saturday. Not quite must win yet but it'd change the completion of their chances of survival completely within 8 days.
Signs for Belgian side KV Kortrijk
https://www.kvk.be/nieuws/eerste-winteraanwinst-voor-kvk/
KVK has made a profitable transfer. Afolabi showed his skill in Ireland, now he will show it in Belgium. He is a good player who will grow in value with time.
weldoninhio
23/01/2024, 10:30 AM
KVK has made a profitable transfer. Afolabi showed his skill in Ireland, now he will show it in Belgium. He is a good player who will grow in value with time.
He's a championship or lower striker if that. I can't see him troubling the Ireland squad in the near future.
pateen
23/01/2024, 5:06 PM
Agreed but time will tell. If he jumps that by 1 tier then super. More competition for Ireland.
Scores away to Club Brugge on his first start.
Olé Olé
30/01/2024, 7:49 PM
1752432448875512019
Nice goal too...
https://x.com/dydfootball/status/1752432448875512019?s=20
Nice goal too...
The defenders did a good job of holding the defense and the goalkeeper didn't see the ball. Goalkeeper's mistake, I think.
pineapple stu
26/05/2024, 10:33 PM
Kortrijk stayed up with an extra-time playoff win over Lommel today. Afolabi not in the squad - not sure why; he was an unused sub in the first game last week.
But he hasn't played in a month, started in two months, or scored since that goal against Brugge in January.
Has a contract for next season but you wonder how involved he'll be, or if he'll be sent out on loan. 24 now and you feel we have to be close to writing him off as an option for Ireland at any stage
Eirambler
27/05/2024, 9:13 AM
Yes I think we can all but write him off. There are so many ahead of him up front. Everything he's done at senior level before and after Bohemians has been underwhelming. With the slow but steady rise in the quality and depth of our senior squad there's a huge gap between the domestic league and the senior national team again now, so the good run at Bohs, when not backed up by any form overseas, is nowhere near enough by itself.
Trequartista20
01/09/2024, 2:04 PM
A few reports linking Afolabi with a season-long loan to Eerste Divisie side, Cambuur.
He's rather amusingly described as a 'superfluous pawn' in the English translation of the article.
https://www.voetbalprimeur.be/nieuws/1222964/sc-cambuur-gaat-zich-versterken-met-jonathan-afolabi-van-kv-kortrijk.html
pineapple stu
01/09/2024, 2:27 PM
That translation is fun.
KV Kortrijk lets striker go and sends Afolabi to SC Cambuur'
Implication is there's two players - a striker, and Afolabi, who's too crap to be described as a striker.
KV Kortrijk has found a solution for Jonathan Afolabi.
A "solution"? Crumbs. Good thing it's only a loan deal and not a final solution.
Eirambler
01/09/2024, 2:31 PM
The solution apparently being to get him the hell out of Kortrijk! I'd imagine he'll be back in Ireland soon enough, was very good in the LoI but that seems to maybe be his ceiling.
Trequartista20
01/09/2024, 2:52 PM
Lol. They absolutely roast him.
Hopefully it reads a little less brutally in Dutch.
tetsujin1979
03/09/2024, 12:24 PM
Loan deal confirmed
https://cambuur.nl/nieuws/jonathan-afolabi-nieuwe-spits-van-sc-cambuur/
Olé Olé
03/09/2024, 12:46 PM
Is the standard comparable to LOI? He should be lording it there if he is to build a career on the continent.
There was talk of a Turkish premier division side bidding 500k during the summer which may have been his agent given where he has ended up.
samhaydenjr
04/09/2024, 4:53 AM
Is the standard comparable to LOI? He should be lording it there if he is to build a career on the continent.
There was talk of a Turkish premier division side bidding 500k during the summer which may have been his agent given where he has ended up.
On paper, should be a higher standard than LOI based on size of the clubs - six teams have stadiums with a capacity of 10k or more. Average attendance this season is over 5000 over 20 teams and this is dragged down by academy teams for four Eredivisie teams, whose squads are made up of the best youngsters in Holland. So it's definitely a step up for Afolabi, but one he will have to succeed at if he wants to have a professional career at a high level.
nigel-harps1954
04/09/2024, 9:29 PM
On paper, should be a higher standard than LOI based on size of the clubs - six teams have stadiums with a capacity of 10k or more. Average attendance this season is over 5000 over 20 teams and this is dragged down by academy teams for four Eredivisie teams, whose squads are made up of the best youngsters in Holland. So it's definitely a step up for Afolabi, but one he will have to succeed at if he wants to have a professional career at a high level.
There's only four rounds of games played this season, so you'd expect the early season bump in attendances.
The average attendance in 23/24 was 3,624
The average LOI attendance for it's last complete season, by comparison, 2023 was 3,289, and that included UCD. This season so far it's 3,404.
Seems fairly comparable apart from the finances and a handful of bigger stadiums.
samhaydenjr
06/09/2024, 3:54 PM
There's only four rounds of games played this season, so you'd expect the early season bump in attendances.
The average attendance in 23/24 was 3,624
The average LOI attendance for it's last complete season, by comparison, 2023 was 3,289, and that included UCD. This season so far it's 3,404.
Seems fairly comparable apart from the finances and a handful of bigger stadiums.
I'm seeing an average of 6344 for 23/24, with eight teams having an average larger than Rovers' - https://www.worldfootball.net/attendance/ned-eerste-divisie-2023-2024/1/. Finances do matter in terms of the overall quality of the league.
tetsujin1979
25/09/2024, 9:29 PM
Won, and converted, a penalty for his first goal for Cambuur on Monday
2:07 below
cfm-8DVzxJg
elatedscum
26/09/2024, 3:35 AM
Harsh red card that. Afolabi basically won the game there and then. 23 mins gone, penalty converted and down to 10 men
tetsujin1979
01/03/2025, 2:22 PM
Off the bench to score the fourth goal in a 5-0 win for Cambuur last night - his first goal since September
Goal here at 4;50
57Qtvf7jsBg
Olé Olé
02/03/2025, 3:33 PM
A couple of LOI journos were discussing on different platforms that Afolabi was being lined up for a move back. Rovers might have been one team considering him. Bohs too.
Didn't matter either way. He has a contract until summer 2026 and it sounds like the inability and/or unwillingness of LOI sides to match the terms of it resulted in Afolabi deciding to hold tough.
Can't blame him in many ways but 3 goals in over 12 months at the age of 24 and 25 isn't exactly setting him up for a bumper contract when he's 26 in the summer of 2026...
Acornvilla
02/03/2025, 11:06 PM
Did I hear someone say he's on something mad like 7k a week? Wages in the LOI have ballooned, to the point there's probably a couple lads in the 150-200k range per year, but no one is getting 7k in Ireland just yet :D
Eirambler
03/03/2025, 6:09 AM
He's right to take the money while he can get it. His next move will be back to Ireland and after his unsuccessful Dutch/Belgian stint I'd imagine that's where he'll stay from there on. However I'd still expect him to be one of the top earners in Ireland on his return based on his record last time around.
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