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Benik Afobe wandered from Bolton to Wolves

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Wolves striker Benik Afobe returns to Bolton Wanderers tomorrow determined to show his former loan club his true colours.

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The 21-year-old striker is expected to lead the Wolves front line on his first return to the Macron Stadium since his loan spell there in 2012-13.

Afobe's stint in the north-west was his first taste of the Championship and he admits it didn't go as planned.

He scored twice in five starts but made 15 appearances from the bench as he played second fiddle to fans' hero Kevin Davies or played wide.

"It didn't go as great as I would have liked," said the bubbly Londoner. "I used to play five, 10 minutes here or there and I was playing out of position.

"We were losing most weeks as well and the manager (Owen Coyle) got sacked so it was a bit of a frustrating time for me."

But for the young then-Arsenal forward, the struggles on the pitch and the time away from home made him stronger.

"I was only a teenager at the time, so I had to be mentally strong," he said.

"I learned a lot from it and it showed me football can't always go your way. I've had a few unlucky times with injuries and unlucky loans, but I still see it as a blessing.

"I haven't got a bad word to say about Bolton as a club, but I'll go there tomorrow wanting to win."

Despite his frustrations on the pitch, Afobe made lasting friendships at Bolton that he hopes to rekindle after the game tomorrow.

"One of my best friends from school plays for them, Sanmi Odelusi," he said.

"There's a few players there I'm still friendly with – Darren Pratley, Adam Bogdan, Matt Mills, Jay Spearing and Rob Hall, who I played with for England.

"It will be fantastic if we can beat them and I can get one over on them."

Benik Afobe during his time on loan at Bolton Wanderers.

Afobe has already proved his scoring pedigree in fixtures between the clubs, netting his first ever Championship goal at Molineux for Bolton in October 2012 in a 2-2 draw.

But he insists he has no extra motivation to find the net tomorrow. "I want to score in every game, not just the fact we're playing Bolton," he said.

"The most important thing is we get three points."

Wolves are unbeaten in seven in the league and looking to make the most of a glut of fixtures against sides in the bottom half of the table.

But Bolton haven't lost at home under Neil Lennon since the former Celtic boss took over from Dougie Freedman in October.

After scoring on debut against Blackpool, Afobe is looking to build on what was his 20th goal of the season.

"I'm expected to score whenever I play," he added. "You have to go into a game with that mindset or there's no point."

Boss Kenny Jackett usually operates with one striker but played 4-4-2 in the second half of last week's 0-0 draw with Charlton when Afobe was joined by Nouha Dicko.

The former Arsenal youngster is confident he can build a partnership with the ex-Wigan striker.

"Joe Gallen (assistant head coach) was speaking to us about different formations and different partnerships," he said.

"When we do play 'up top' together, we have to combine more.

"In training we look decent. It's just about putting that into a game.

"There's a bond there. Off the pitch I'm very friendly with Nouha and with other attacking players as well. So I think something will click soon."

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