As miserable as West Ham United’s 2024/25 Premier League campaign has undoubtedly been, at least the travails of Ipswich Town, Leicester City and Southampton made relegation fears rather moot.
That Graham Potter has won only four times in 17 matches since replacing Julen Lopetegui, and West Ham United still have nearly double the amount of points of 17th place Ipswich speaks volumes about the cavernous gap between the relegated trio and the teams sitting on the right side of the dotted line.
Only three weeks ago, West Ham were technically still not safe from the dreaded drop zone.
Yet, with Kieran McKenna’s toiling Tractor Boys stuck in the mud, it would have taken both a remarkable change in fortunes at Portman Road and also a stunning Hammers collapse for any May-day drama to even enter the realms of possibility.
Speaking of stunning collapses, former West Ham starlet Dapo Afolayan is all-but guaranteed a spot in the German Bundesliga last term provided his St Pauli outfit do not find themselves at the centre of one of football’s most extraordinary final day stories.
Photo by Rob Newell - CameraSport via Getty Images
Photo by Rob Newell – CameraSport via Getty Images
Ideal Bundesliga ending for former West Ham starlet Dapo Afolayan
It took Afolayan until the age of 26 before he finally made his first appearance in a major European league.
A late-blooming winger who spent three years in the West Ham academy from 2018 to 2021, the one-time England C international secured his shot at Bundesliga football after Afolayan enjoyed a stand-out spell with Bolton Wanderers at League One level.
And, barring something pretty show-stopping on the 34th Bundesliga matchday next weekend, he will be rubbing shoulders with Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala and Harry Kane again in 2025/26.
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While both Holstein Kiel and VFL Bochum were relegated last time out, Heidenheim’s fate has not been sealed. Well, not officially anyway. Yet, if Afolayan’s St Pauli outfit are to replace the Voith Arena side in the relegation play-off spot before the curtain falls, they would need to lose on the final day, in addition to a Heidenheim win and a 13-goal swing for good measure.
Afolayan makes his ‘dream’ come true with St Pauli
In fact, with Hoffenheim sandwiching Heidenheim in 16th and St Pauli in 14th heading into the latter’s clash with already-doomed Bochum, Afolayan and co could actually finish with a six-point buffer and a considerable goal difference advantage over the bottom three.
“We’re overjoyed with the point,” head coach Alexander Blessin beamed after Sunday’s shock 2-2 draw at Champions League-chasing Eintracht Frankfurt ensured St Pauli have one foot and four toes in the Bundesliga.
“We defended well and are happy to take the point. It was a big step today.”
“Mathematically, we’re not 100 per cent through yet,” adds defender Eric Smith, albeit the progress bar now appears to stand at 99 per cent. “We need to put in another good performance next week and finish quickly.
“But today feels fantastic. It was an incredible feeling when the final whistle blew.”
Afolayan might not have been particularly prolific in his maiden top-flight campaign. But, without his three goals and two assists, their first season back in the Bundesliga after a 12-year absence might have ended very differently indeed.
Scoring one and assisting another in a brilliant 3-0 win over high-flying Freiburg, plus big contributions in vital wins over relegation rivals Heidenheim and Hoffenheim, ensure that what Afolayan lacked in terms of consistency he more than made up for in timing.
“I never expected [a chance in one of Europe’s major leagues],” the Harrow-born forward told The Guardian shortly after firing St Pauli out of the second tier.
“I know how much work I have put in and how much I have sacrificed. It has always been a dream of mine and I said to myself; ‘I am going to work as hard as I can to make that dream possible.’ Luckily, I was able to do so.
“I don’t think there are many better feelings in football than knowing you’ve been part of something special. To get the club up into the Bundesliga is special. My head is still a bit sore from all the celebrating but it’s been really good.”
Nearly a year on from that migraine-inducing promotion, there may well be another round of steins coming Afolayan’s way.