Over the past few decades, the West African nation of Nigeria has produced some of the world’s most iconic football players, many of whom had successful careers in one or more of the top-flight European domestic leagues, such as La Liga, the Premier League, Ligue 1, the Bundesliga, and Serie A.
The question being asked here is, will 22-year-old striker Rafiu Durosinmi be the next Nigerian to grace the Premier League? Let’s dive straight in to find out.
Who is Rafiu Durosinmi?
Rafiu Durosinmi is a men’s professional football player who turned 22 on January 1, 2025. He was born in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2003, and he currently plays as a striker for Viktoria Plzeň in the Czech First League.
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Durosinmi is known for his incredible technical ability and height, and in 14 league appearances, he has scored 8 goals. He started out at MFK Karvina, which competes in the same league, scoring 6 goals in 34 appearances.
Will Rafiu Durosinmi be the next Nigerian to head to the EPL?
Recent reports suggest that Durosinmi could very well be the next Nigerian footballer to head to the English Premier League, with Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers both apparently showing interest in him.
Italian Serie A side Lazio have also reportedly had meetings with his agents [and possibly with Durosinmi himself] about securing his services. However, it’s most likely that he will head to the Premier League.
If there were any EPL odds for which club he will most likely sign for, Leicester would be the slight odds-on favourite. Zambian forward Patson Daka has failed to make an impression at Leicester. They are currently in dire need of a new striker and have been keeping close tabs on Durosinmi.
Where are Leicester in the league?
Leicester are currently in 19th place in the Premier League with 17 points. Southampton are rock bottom in 20th with only 9 points. In 18th place, also with only 17 points, are Ipswich Town, followed by Wolves in 17th with 23 points, and West Ham in 16th with 33 points.
The Foxes have just ten games left to go before the end of the current 2024/25 campaign, and if they don’t win their remaining games (at least 8 or 9 out of their remaining fixtures), there’s a very good chance they will be relegated, meaning they will play the 2025/26 season in the English Championship.
With that said, despite being second from bottom, Leicester are only currently priced at 10/1 in the fractional odds format to be relegated at the end of the season. 10/1 equates to 11.00 in decimal odds and +1,000 in American/moneyline odds. It also means that the implied probability rate (the chance of Leicester actually going down) is just 9.10%.
In some of their remaining fixtures, Leicester face Manchester City, Newcastle United, Brighton, Liverpool, and Wolves. They also go on to play Southampton, Nottingham Forest, and Ipswich Town, and their final game of the season is on May 25, away to Bournemouth.
Final thoughts
Whether Rafiu Durosinmi heads to the English Premier League remains to be seen. We will just have to keep a close eye on what happens over the coming months.
If he does end up playing for a Premier League club, he will join the likes of several other fellow countrymen who have also had relatively successful careers here, some of which include Odion Ighalo, Victor Moses, Mikel John Obi, Shola Ameobi, Kelechi Iheanacho, Peter Odemwingie, and Efan Ekoku.
That’s not forgetting Wilfred Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, Nwankwo Kanu, Yakubu, and Daniel Amokachi, to name just a few iconic Nigerian players from the past few decades.
