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Benik Afobe: I chose Wolves over 17 clubs

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Benik Afobe is already proving why he was the subject of so much interest before he joined Wolves.

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Five goals in his first seven games in gold and black took the £2m man's tally to 24 for the season.

Not surprisingly perhaps, it's a record that has caught the eye.

Now the 22-year-old striker has revealed just how intense the competition was for his signature - and why he was happy to turn down an immediate chance of playing in the top flight.

"Two Premier League clubs wanted me and about 15 Championship clubs showed an interest," said the former Arsenal reserve.

"But I didn't want to go to the Premier League, not play and end up back out on loan.

"Sometimes the quicker you go up, the quicker you come back down.

"I had plenty of options but when I spoke to manager here I liked what he had to say.

"He told me he wasn't going to put pressure on me to come here but he said he had plans for me and he didn't expect me to be a bit-part player.

"He told me I'm a player he likes and that he'd been watching me at MK Dons and he thought I'd grown and improved since he had me at Millwall.

"He also said he thinks I'm a good lad to have around the place and I can help the team improve.

"I spoke to my family and agent and I came to the decision I wanted to come to Wolves.

"The manager spoke to my dad and he made me feel very welcome both on and off the pitch.

"The fans have also been fantastic. It all feels like a bit of a fairytale and I don't want it to end."

Head coach Kenny Jackett said from when he signed him that Afobe was ready to hit the ground running.

But the striker confessed he chose Wolves despite there being no guarantee of a first-team place.

"Kenny didn't guarantee me a place in the first XI," he said.

"The manager told me I'm going to have to fight for my place but he believes I'm good enough to play for this team week-in, week-out.

"I said to my dad I wanted to work hard, get my head down and make a name for myself.

"I haven't got a point to prove to Arsenal but I've got a point to prove to myself."

Afobe believes his decision to delay a Premier League chance now will pay off - because he is convinced his chance to join the elite ranks will come.

"I want to get to the Premier League with Wolves," he said.

"I have no hard feelings towards Arsenal. Arsene Wenger told me there would be limited opportunities and I wanted to start my career afresh.

"I've joined a club that's set up like a Premier League club – it has Premier League stature.

"I was with Arsenal since six-years-old, that's practically a baby, but now I'm a Wolves player and a Wolves fan."

Wolves go into tonight's visit of Fulham two places and five points off the play-off zone.

Afobe is convinced Jackett's side can bridge the gap over the next 14 games.

"Promotion is a very realistic target," he said. "There are about eight teams who all fancy themselves.

"We want to be one of those three - whether it's automatic or play-offs.

"We aren't saying we're the best team but we think we're good enough."

Saturday's 5-0 win over Rotherham kicked off a hectic spell of five games in 15 days for the Molineux men.

And after the club's biggest victory since 2003, Afobe says confidence is high in the camp that they can continue their winning run.

"We fancy ourselves to win all four of those games," he said.

"We know we're good enough and we're ready to go again."

In a bizarre game where Rotherham had more clear chances than Wolves, Afobe believes they produced the "perfect performance".

"The attacking players got five goals and the defenders got a clean sheet so it was the perfect performance," he said.

"As a striker you want to score. I go into every game wanting to score and I did that on Saturday and an assist.

"I'm just working hard to keep improving and to also to learn more about my team-mates.

"There's still a lot of improvement for me and for this team."

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