Olujimi James Ayodele Olayinka (born 5 October 2000) is an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who most recently played as a midfielder for

Cheltenham Town Cheltenham Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England. From the 2021–22 season, the club compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league syst ...

Career

Arsenal

Olayinka began his career with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. He signed his first professional contract with the club in January 2019. On 29 August 2020, Olayinka was named an unused substitute in the

2020 FA Community Shield The 2020 FA Community Shield (also known as The FA Community Shield supported by McDonald's for sponsorship reasons) was the 98th FA Community Shield, an annual football match played between the winners of the previous season's Premier League, L ...

, with Arsenal clinching a 5–4 victory over Liverpool in the penalty shootout after the match finished 1–1 after 90 minutes.

Loan to Northampton Town

In January 2020, Olayinka moved on loan to

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

side Northampton Town until the end of the season, making his debut in a 3–0 win over

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

on 28 January. He helped Northampton Town to secure promotion to League One by winning the play-off final.

Loan to Southend United

In October 2020 he joined Southend United on loan until January 2021. He scored his first goal for the club, and his first professional goal, in an FA Cup tie against Boreham Wood on 7 November 2020. On 1 February 2021, Olayinka extended his loan with Southend United to the end of the 2020–21 season.

Cheltenham Town

He signed a two-year contract with

on 1 September 2022. On 2 January 2024, manager

Darrell Clarke Darrell James Clarke (born 16 December 1977) is an English professional football manager and former player who played in the English Football League. He is the manager of club Port Vale. A box-to-box midfielder, Clarke began his career with ...

announced that Olayinka had been made available for transfer. He was released by the club at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Personal life

Olayinka is of Nigerian descent.

Career statistics

Honours

Northampton Town * EFL League Two play-offs:

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Arsenal *

FA Community Shield The Football Association Community Shield (formerly the Charity Shield) is English football's annual match contested at Wembley Stadium between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup. If the Premier Le ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olayinka, James 2000 births Living people Footballers from the London Borough of Lambeth People from Lambeth English men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Arsenal F.C. players Northampton Town F.C. players Southend United F.C. players English Football League players Black British sportsmen English people of Nigerian descent Sportspeople of Nigerian descent Cheltenham Town F.C. players