Trabzonspor transfer news: Is Rafiu Durosinmi the answer to Paul Onuachu exit fears?

Trabzonspor are facing the prospect of losing their top scorer, Paul Onuachu, this summer, with Al Ahli continuing to pursue the Super Eagles striker despite the Turkish club’s rejection of a €20 million offer, Afrik Foot reports.

Onuachu delivered one of the finest individual seasons of his career in the just-concluded season, finishing as the highest-scoring Nigerian player in Europe with 26 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions.

His 22 league goals earned him the Turkish Super Lig Golden Boot, while a brace in the Turkish Cup final against Konyaspor showed his ability to produce on the grandest occasions.

Those numbers have made him one of the most coveted strikers outside of Europe’s top five leagues, and Al Ahli, fresh from winning the AFC Champions League, have identified the 32-year-old as the ideal replacement for Ivan Toney amid uncertainty over the Englishman’s future.

Trabzonspor’s president, Ertuğrul Doğan, has twice rejected offers for Onuachu this summer, turning away bids of €11 million and €20 million. Yet the Head coach, Fatih Tekke, is understood to be open to the striker’s departure, preferring a more mobile forward capable of leading a high-intensity pressing system.

The club’s financial situation also means a sufficiently large offer could force a transfer, regardless of the president’s public stance.

Meanwhile, Rafiu Durosinmi is available this summer after Pisa’s relegation from Serie A triggered a contractual release clause in his deal with the Italian club, allowing him to seek a move elsewhere.

Pisa are open to offers, with a fee of around €8 million expected to be sufficient to secure his services.

What Rafiu Durosinmi offers Trabzonspor

The timing of Durosinmi’s availability is almost too convenient to ignore. The 23-year-old striker only joined Pisa in January after scoring 13 goals in 30 games for Viktoria Plzen in the first half of the season.

However, his move to Serie A came at a difficult moment. The Italian club were already in a relegation battle, and Durosinmi managed just one goal in 12 appearances as Pisa were ultimately demoted.

His previous performances attracted interest from West Ham United, Benfica, and Trabzonspor themselves, as per Footy Africa.

Durosinmi is nine years younger than Onuachu, offers a different profile in terms of movement and pressing, and would arrive at a cost that allows Trabzonspor to reinvest just a part of whatever they get from the lanky striker’s sale.

Is Durosinmi the answer to Trabzonspor’s Onuachu exit fears?

The Pisa forward can be a credible option, but not a complete one. Replacing 26 goals and a Golden Boot with a striker who scored one goal in 12 Serie A games looks like a significant step down, despite Durosinmi’s promising potential.

Trabzonspor are not building for the future; they want to win the Turkish Super Lig title next season and compete in the UEFA Europa League, and those ambitions demand a striker who can be trusted to deliver right away, rather than taking another six months to adapt to his new environment.

The €8 million price tag is the most compelling argument in Durosinmi’s favour. It is the kind of fee that allows Trabzonspor to act quickly and take a calculated risk on a young Nigerian with obvious talent and the hunger of a player who has something to prove after a difficult six months in Italy.