West Ham sign former Chelsea youngster
The 20-year-old will join Terry Westley’s U23 squad, has been snapped up from National League club Solihull Moors, where his goalscoring exploits were attracting intense interest from a host of Premier League and Championship clubs.
The striker, who has joined on a three-and-a-half year contract for an undisclosed fee, is looking forward to pulling on a West Ham shirt.
“It’s a dream come true,” said. Afolayan, who was in the same year-group as Tammy Abraham and Dominic Solanke as a youngster at Chelsea. “I’ve worked hard to get here and I’m grateful for the opportunity.
“I started out with Chelsea and was there until I was 15, then my family moved to Canada and I was part of the Academy at Toronto FC. Then, when we moved back, I studied civil engineering at Loughborough University before the opportunity arose to join Solihull and play in the National League and it was something I couldn’t turn down.
“Now, the opportunity has come to join a Premier League club and West Ham is one which has always given youngsters opportunities to come through, as we have seen this sea