One Nigerian striker leaving Trabzonspor for Saudi riches could open the door for another to arrive from a relegated Italian club. The domino effect at Papara Park this summer hinges entirely on what Paul Onuachu decides next.
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Trabzonspor have received a significant boost in their pursuit of Super Eagles striker Rafiu Durosinmi, with the move tied directly to the expected departure of their current top scorer Paul Onuachu, FootballInNigeria.com.ng reports. Onuachu faces the prospect of leaving the Turkish club after Trabzonspor rejected two bids from Saudi Pro League side Al Ahli, including one worth €20 million, with the Saudi club reportedly viewing the Nigerian as a replacement for Ivan Toney. Should that departure go through, Trabzonspor have already identified Durosinmi as their preferred replacement up front.
Onuachu’s case for moving on is built on a season that could not have gone much better individually. He scored 26 goals in 36 appearances across all competitions for Fatih Tekke’s side in 2025-26, winning the Turkish Super Lig golden boot in the process. At 32, Trabzonspor’s hierarchy appear to recognise this may be their best window to cash in on him before his physical attributes, which have always been central to his game, begin to decline. Super Eagles fans following the Trabzonspor transfer saga can check the Bet9ja promo code on FootballInNigeria.com.ng for the latest welcome offer.
Pisa Name Their Price for Durosinmi
Durosinmi’s situation at Pisa has been complicated since his arrival. The 23-year-old joined the Italian club for a reported €9 million during the January 2026 window after scoring 13 goals in 30 games for Czech side Viktoria Plzen in the first half of the season. The move did not work out as either party would have hoped. He managed just one goal and picked up a red card before Pisa were relegated to Serie B, a disappointing conclusion to what had been billed as a breakthrough move to Serie A.
That relegation has triggered a release clause in Durosinmi’s contract, which runs until 2030 and carries an €18 million figure on paper. According to Italian outlet SestaPorta, Pisa are willing to let the striker leave for considerably less than that figure, in the range of €8 to €10 million, reflecting both the club’s need to recoup value following relegation and the reality that Durosinmi’s stock has fallen since his disappointing half season in Tuscany. New Bet9ja users wanting to follow the Turkish Super Lig and Nigerian transfer activity this window can use the Bet9ja YOHAIG welcome code before the new season begins.
Why Tekke Wants a Different Profile Up Front
The tactical reasoning behind Trabzonspor’s interest in Durosinmi over keeping Onuachu is significant. Coach Fatih Tekke is understood to be open to Onuachu’s departure, with a preference for a more mobile forward capable of leading a high-intensity pressing system rather than the more physically imposing, target-man profile that Onuachu represents. Durosinmi’s statistical record at Viktoria Plzen, where he scored 35 goals and provided 10 assists in 86 appearances, suggests a forward with the mobility and link-up play that fits Tekke’s stated preference far more naturally than a like for like Onuachu replacement would.
Trabzonspor president Ertuğrul Doğan has confirmed there are offers on the table for Onuachu, though the striker himself has yet to make a final decision on his future. The entire Durosinmi operation hinges on that decision. If Onuachu agrees to the move to Saudi Arabia, Trabzonspor will have both the financial resources from the sale and the squad vacancy needed to move for Durosinmi at the discounted fee Pisa are prepared to accept. Bet9ja’s promo code for today is available for fans tracking the Trabzonspor striker situation and other Nigerian transfer sagas this summer.
What a Move Would Mean for Durosinmi
For Durosinmi personally, a move to Trabzonspor represents the chance to rebuild momentum after a difficult half season in Italy. The Turkish Super Lig offers a level of competition below Serie A but with genuinely competitive European positioning, and crucially, a fresh start at a club that has just won a domestic trophy and qualified for European football. After the disappointment of relegation with Pisa, regular minutes in a system that suits his mobile, pressing forward profile would be exactly what his career needs at this stage.
The broader picture for Nigerian football is also notable. Should both moves go through, Trabzonspor would be replacing one Super Eagles international striker with another, continuing the club’s pattern of recruiting heavily from the Nigerian player pool that has already produced significant returns through Onuachu’s golden boot season and Chibuike Nwaiwu’s rapid rise in the same Turkish Super Lig. Whether Durosinmi can rediscover the kind of form that made him one of the most prolific strikers in Czech football before his move to Italy will be the question that follows him to Papara Park if the deal goes through.
📌 Did You Know?
- Paul Onuachu’s 26 goals in 36 appearances during the 2025-26 season made him the Turkish Super Lig’s top scorer, a title that places him among an elite group of Nigerian strikers who have led a major European league’s goalscoring charts in a single campaign.
- Rafiu Durosinmi’s release clause at Pisa, set at €18 million when he signed in January 2026, was triggered automatically by the club’s relegation to Serie B, a contractual mechanism increasingly common in Italian football that protects players from being trapped at a club that has dropped a division.
- Viktoria Plzen, the Czech club where Durosinmi built his reputation before moving to Italy, are a regular participant in UEFA Champions League and Europa League qualifying rounds, giving the striker continental experience that should translate well to Turkish Super Lig football, which also features regular European qualification places.
- Al Ahli’s reported interest in Onuachu as a replacement for Ivan Toney reflects the Saudi Pro League’s continued pattern of targeting proven goalscorers from Europe’s mid-tier leagues, having already brought in several high-profile forwards from England, Turkey and elsewhere over the past three transfer windows.
- Fatih Tekke, Trabzonspor’s head coach, was himself a prolific striker during his playing career in Turkey, scoring over 150 goals across spells at Trabzonspor, Galatasaray and the Turkish national team, giving him a particularly informed perspective on what profile of forward suits his tactical system.
- SestaPorta, the Italian outlet that reported Pisa’s willingness to sell Durosinmi for €8-10 million, is a reliable source for Pisa and Tuscan football transfer reporting, often citing sources close to the club’s negotiating positions during the Serie B relegation aftermath period.
- If Trabzonspor complete moves involving both Onuachu’s departure and Durosinmi’s arrival in the same window, it would mark one of the more significant single-position overhauls involving Nigerian players at a single European club in the current transfer cycle, alongside the ongoing Chibuike Nwaiwu transfer saga at the same club.
