There are players who for a while catch the eye as one for the future, but who then fade from our awareness as they move on to loans, pastures new, and sadly injury. Such is the story for Benik Afobe
On 3 August 2012 Benik Afobe was loaned to Bolton all season scoring two goals in 20 games and suddenly found himself in the headlines as an Arsenal player – and yet curiously in his six years at Arsenal (2010-15) he did not play a single game for the club’s first team.
He did however have six loan spells including a year with Huddersfield where he played 28 times, and a season with Bolton (five games). His final loan spell of the era was with MK Don (22 games), before he made a permanent transfer to Wolverhampton Wanderers with 46 games and 22 goals across one season.
That grabbed the headlines and he moved to Bournemouth but only managed 10 goals in 63 games and so was loaned back to Wolverhampton where he got six in 16.
But his career was blighted by injury and he has since then continued his roaming taking in Stoke City, Bristol City, Trabzonspor and finally Millwall for whom he went on loan in 2021/2 and played 38 games – his most successful run since his time at Bournemouth. For 2022/23 he has signed permanently with Bournemouth
He also played for England at under 16, 17, 19, and 21 level and for the Democratic Republic of Congo at senior level playing six times in 2017/18.
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