Hakeem Odofin has thanked Barnet for the opportunity they gave him after completing his switch to Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers this morning.

The 17-year-old joined the Midlands outfit for an undisclosed fee, believed to be in the region of £100,000, after just two first-team appearances for the Bees.

He has signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with Wolves and will work with the Under-21s.

Head coach Martin Allen made no secret of the fact the versatile defender was someone he expected big things from and said he wouldn’t be at The Hive long last year.

“I’ve also got a young player here called Hakeem Odoffin,” said Allen in November. “You wait until you see him play. Oh my God, you just wait until you see that kid play.  

“You will get the chance to see him play soon. It won’t be for long because he won’t be playing at Barnet for long. He will be a top player and he’s probably unfortunate he’s not in our team now.

“I knew a little bit about him but he’s been training with us for the past few weeks and he’s a fantastic young player.”

That prophecy was fulfilled and speaking to Wolves’ website after completing his switch to Molineux, Odofin paid tribute to the part Barnet played in his development during 18 months with the club.

“I’m delighted. It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “There’s been a lot of talk and there was a lot of speculation.

“Barnet have been great about it so I was never worried and I knew I was always going to end up coming here. I’m just happy to get it done.

“It’s been brilliant," he said of his time at Barnet. "The team and the manager have always been great to me and I’m really thankful for the opportunity they gave me.

“I know that they wanted what was best for me and I wanted what was best too.

“I think that moving to Wolves was definitely the best option for me and I just can’t wait to get started.

“I definitely learnt a lot playing with the first team at Barnet and I can hopefully bring that experience forward and work hard."

Odofin, along with Under-18s hot-shot Matt Stevens, joined the Bees in the summer of 2014 after being released by Reading.

He had previously been let go by Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur too. It was fate which saw him arrive at Barnet’s door after those knock backs.

“I didn’t want to let it lie,” he explained. I still loved the game and I wanted to keep going.

“My mum went to Barnet because she was watching one of my friends play and she spoke to one of the coaches.

“They said I should come down for a trial and within six weeks they signed me.

“I like to think that shows character. I get a lot of that from my mum, she’s never stopped since the beginning.

“I’m very thankful to her and this move is as much for her as it is for me. I’m really looking forward to it and I’m really excited."