Rafiu Durosinmi- The Nigerian striker looking to make an impact in Europe by Calum Scullion
Player Bio:
Name: Rafiu Durosinmi
Age: 21
Place of birth: Lagos
Nationality: Nigerian
Height: 1.92M
Position: Centre forward
Background:
Nigeria has become pretty well known for producing great strikers and attacking players in recent years, Victor Osimhen is probably the most well known in the current squad due to his great success at Napoli over the last couple of years but there is many other interesting Forwards emerging for the Super Eagles at the minute including Victor Boniface and Gift Orban, however I am going to highlight a lesser known player that is having a breakout season in the Czech league, Rafiu Durosinmi.
Rafiu Durosinmi was born on the 1st of January 2003 in Lagos, Nigeria. He started his footballing career playing in the youth teams of Unique footballing academy Lagos and box2box FC in Nigeria, he attracted the interest of Karvina in the Czech Republic and he was initially apart of their B team. He scored 6 goals in 11 appearances in the Czech reserve league, this was enough for him to be called up to the first team in which he made 20 appearances, scored 3 goals and provided 1 assist in the 21/22 season.
Karvina were unfortunately relegated at the end of the season however it did give a chance for Durosinmi to develop and play more first team football. He scored 7 goals and provided 5 assists in 19 appearances over the Czech second division and the Czech Cup. He then moved to Viktoria Plzen initially on loan, most of his appearances came off the bench but he managed to score 4 goals and done enough to make the move permanent.
This season has been his real breakout year, he has scored 9 goals and provided 6 assists in 19 appearances in all competitions so far this season. Durosinmi has sadly torn his knee ligaments so will be out for at least a couple of months but it will be really interesting to see if he can continue his form when he returns from injury.
It looked likely that he was going to join Eintracht Frankfurt but at the time of writing the deal is apparently off due to Frankfurt having concerns over Durosinmis current injury and they seemed to have turned their attention to other targets.
Playstyle:
In the games I watched Rafiu Durosinmi often played in his preferred centre forward position but at times he played out wide, he would also often drift from his central position and look to get into and make runs into wide spaces. On the ball he made some really good 1-2s and other short passing combinations, he was good at holding the ball up for his teammates and then playing an effective pass to them once they had made their run, he would also often drop deep to show for the ball and get involved in play. When playing out wide he played some very good cut backs and effective passes into the box which led to clear chances for his teammates. Durosinmi showed a good ability to keep the ball and win fouls when playing with his back to an opponent, he would often use his frame and physicality to shield the ball and look to draw contact at times.
He offered a good attacking outlet for his teammates with him making runs and also proving to be effective in hold up play at times, however I feel he can do this more often and consistently. He was effective in the air and was really good at flicking the ball on or playing a headed pass to an oncoming teammate.Â
Durosinmi is a good finisher at his current level, I was impressed with the range of goals he scored in the games I watched. He scored goals with both feet and his head and his 9 goals in 19 games so far this season shows he can do this consistently at a good level. A lot of his goals came from getting on the end of crosses and beating the keeper with a first time finish but as I said he showed a good range of finishes. He has a very powerful shot and if he gets a clean strike of the ball it can be very hard for the goalkeeper to stop. I was also impressed with the creative side of Durosinmi’s game, most of his assists came from simple cut backs or lay offs in attacking areas and he is good at putting the ball into positive attacking areas and making it a bit easier for his teammates to score.
Due to his height and good jumping ability, Rafiu Durosinmi was a clear threat from set pieces, his teammates would often look to create goalscoring opportunities and direct balls into him. Surprisingly for a striker, he has a great long throw-in, you probably wouldn’t want your striker to be outside of the box in potential attacking situations but it did prove to be effective and he was able to find teammates with his throws.
Off the ball he made some really smart runs and movements and was good at finding gaps in the opposing defensive line and running off the shoulder of defenders. Durosinmi looked to press and apply pressure on opponents high up the pitch consistently, he also tracked back and offered defensive help at times. In general, I was impressed with his off ball work-rate and defensive output and I feel it’s another positive aspect of his game.
Physically he already is a fairly strong player however I actually feel he could still add more muscle as he does have quite a slim frame and I think this could really help him adapt for when he does make that step up to a top European league. He also showed a good burst of pace and acceleration when chasing a ball, making an attacking run into space or pressing an opposition player.
There is only 2 main things that I think Durosinmi needs to improve before he can take his game to the next level and potentially move to a top league, the first one is his dribbling/ball carrying, he was too easily dispossessed and often just seemed to lack that bit of skill or trickery to beat an opponent. He also showed too much of the ball to opponents at times which led to him easily being dispossessed and putting his team on the Blackfoot. The second thing I think he could improve is his decision making, I know this may sound harsh due to his very good goal and assist numbers but honestly, I think he could score and create a lot more if his decision making was better and he was even more clinical in the final third, he gets a lot of chances and I just felt he wasted a lot of them and squandered a few clear cut opportunities in front of goal.
Career future/Overall Evaluation:
It is clear that Rafiu Durosinmi is one of the best Nigerian talents and it’s no surprise he is attracting interest from big clubs around Europe. He is still quite raw in certain aspects of his game and maybe does need another season to polish and refine his skillset and attributes before he goes to that next level.
His current injury does seem to be a pretty serious one and he will probably be out for another while so I personally think he is better off staying at Viktoria Plzen for the rest of the season and he should use this time to get himself fit and get back into goalscoring form before making a move.
Overall I think if Rafiu Durosinmi can stay fit and keep regularly scoring goals he will be playing in a top European league in the next year or two, I would like to see him maybe go to Portugal or Holland before taking that huge step up to a top 5 league. It will be really interesting to monitor him over the next few months and see how he recovers from his injury.