Sky Sports pundits Matt Mills and Jobi McAnuff hailed the transformation of Bolton Wanderers Dapo Afolayan after his impressive start to the campaign.
The 23-year-old has scored three goals in eight games so far this season, tripling his goal tally from the second half of last term when he initially joined Wanderers on loan.
Afolayan made his Wanderers stay permanent in the summer, concluding his three-year stay with West Ham United by signing a new three-year deal with Ian Evatt's outfit.
His performances in the early stages of the season have warranted praise from his manager and supporters alike, with former Bolton defender Mills - who was on punditry duty alongside McAnuff for Wanderers' fixture against Burton on Monday night - echoing the plaudits directed by those involved with the club.
“They’ve got real high hopes for him," said Mills when assessing his impact. "Speaking to coaching staff before the game, they think he’s a real talent and on tonight’s performance, I’d certainly agree.
“He caused Burton a lot of problems.”
McAnuff concurred, believing that Afolayan is thriving from the support of Ian Evatt and the club.
“I love the variation in his game, which for me is a big improvement certainly from when I saw him last season.
“He seems to have come there, he’s got that presence, he’s got that faith that has been shown in him and he’s really expressing himself. He’s picking up lovely pockets inside the pitch. He’s taking people on, on the outside, a few lovely through balls today, so it’s a real nice mix and variation and growth that I’ve certainly seen in his game.
"He looked like a player playing with absolute top confidence and you only get that from your manager, the boys around you, that are giving you that ‘go on, give me the ball’.
“He seemed to be the man at all times that they went to and he took that on today and he was very lucky that he didn’t produce that slight moment of magic to win them the game.”
