Abdulrahman Taiwo

Last updated

Abdulrahman Taiwo
Abdulrahman Taiwo.jpg
Taiwo celebrating a goal against Dunajská Streda.
Personal information
Date of birth (1998-08-05) 5 August 1998 (age 27)
Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward [1]
Team information
Current team
Spartak Trnava
(on loan from Riga)
Number 12
Youth career
Abees Academy Abuja
Kwara United
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2016–2017 Kwara United
2017 Bursaspor 0 (0)
2017 Zbrojovka Brno 0 (0)
2018–2019 Nitra 18 (3)
2019–2021 DAC Dunajská Streda 33 (10)
2020Karviná (loan) 13 (3)
2020Michalovce (loan) 8 (6)
2021–2023 SønderjyskE 17 (1)
2022–2023Spartak Trnava (loan) 21 (14)
2023– Riga 35 (8)
2024Auda (loan) 12 (9)
2025–Spartak Trnava (loan) 1 (1)
International career
2016 Nigeria U23
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 September 2025

Abdulrahman Taiwo (born 5 August 1998) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Slovak club Spartak Trnava, on loan from Riga. [2]

Contents

Club career

Early career

Taiwo played in Nigeria with Abees Academy Abuja and Kwara United. [3] [4] In 2017, he had a nine-month stint with Turkish club Bursaspor, which preceded a move to FC Zbrojovka Brno of the Czech First League in September 2017. [5] [6] In January 2018, Taiwo completed a transfer to Slovakia to join Nitra. [7] [8] He scored five goals in pre-season for Nitra, notably netting braces against ex-team FC Zbrojovka Brno and MTK Budapest respectively. [9] [10] He made his debut on 28 July in the Slovak Super Liga, featuring for the full duration of a 2–1 loss against Žilina. [2] Taiwo's first competitive goal came in August versus Slovan Bratislava. [2]

Dunajská Streda

In January 2019, Taiwo moved across Slovakia to DAC Dunajská Streda. [4] A year later, after six goals for DAC, Taiwo returned to the Czech First League on loan with Karviná. [2] [11] He scored on his debut against Zlín on 15 February 2020. [2] [12]

Sønderjyske

On 19 August 2021, Taiwo joined Danish Superliga club Sønderjyske on a deal until June 2025. [13] On 5 September 2022, it emerged that a rift had arisen between the management of Sønderjyske and Taiwo. As a result, he was sent down to the U19 team, but that decision didn't have the support of the first-team squad. Shortly after, he was back in the first team squad. [14] On 6 September 2022, the club confirmed that Taiwo had left the club to join Slovak side FC Spartak Trnava on a loan deal for the 2022-23 season. [15] [16]

Spartak Trnava (loan)

In the summer of 2022, Taiwo transferred to Slovak club Spartak Trnava, where he initially got the opportunity mainly as a substitute player. [17] He scored his first goal on October 2, 2022 against Zlaté Moravce, where his goal set a 3–0 victory for Spartak. [18] However, he scored only three goals in the fall. He began to do much better in the spring, when his performances gradually earned him a place in the starting line-up and became one of the mainstays of the team. [19] Taiwo managed to score up to 11 goals in 10 matches and thus became the fourth best scorer of Fortuna League 2022/23 with 14 goals. [20] In his final match on May 20, 2023, at home against MŠK Žilina, he scored his first hat trick, which took 52 minutes. [21] [22]

He played 27 matches for Spartak and scored 19 goals, one of which was the equalizer in the Slovak Cup final against Slovan Bratislava. [23]

Riga

On 17 July 2023, Taiwo joined Latvian side Riga FC. [24] [25] He scored a brace on his debut for the Latvian club in a 6–0 league win against FK Tukums. [26]

Loan to FK Auda

Following little game time, Taiwo joined fellow league outfit FK Auda in 2024. He scored a goal for Auda in a 2–0 win in the Conference League against Cliftonville F.C., knocking out the Northern Irish club 4–1 on aggregate. [27]

Return to Spartak

On 6 September 2025, on the deadline day of the transfer window, it was announced that Taiwo would be returning to FC Spartak Trnava on a loan with an option to buy. [28] [29] He said in an interview with Spartak that Riga had accepted the loan deal 12 minutes before the deadline, which is also the number he wore at his previous loan. [30] Taiwo made his debut for Spartak in a 4–0 away win against MFK Skalica. In the 29th minute, Trnava doubled their lead. After a quick break, Azango pushed Holík to the right and his precise cross was directed into the net by Taiwo, who scored his second debut goal in the Trnava jersey. Taiwo's debut didn't even last a full half, as he had to be substituted early in the 43rd minute due to an injury. [31] [32]

International career

In June 2016, Taiwo was selected for the Nigeria U23s' provisional squad ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics. [33] However, he wasn't picked in Samson Siasia's final selection. [34] [35] Taiwo did represent the U23s at the 2016 Suwon Invitational Tournament a month prior. [36]

Career statistics

As of 23 June 2020 [2]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bursaspor 2016–17 Süper Lig 00000000
FC Zbrojovka Brno 2017–18 Czech First League 00000000
Nitra 2018–19 Slovak Super Liga 1830000183
DAC Dunajská Streda 2018–19 Slovak Super Liga94000094
2019–20 92102 [a] 000122
Total186102000306
Karviná (loan) 2019–20 Czech First League1230000123
Career total49131020005213
  1. Appearance(s) in the UEFA Europa League

Honours

Spartak Trnava

References

  1. "Abdulrahman Taiwo". World Football. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Abdulrahman Taiwo at Soccerway
  3. "Kwara hit amateurs for seven in Cup". SuperSport. 26 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  4. 1 2 "Dunajská Streda podpísala trojročnú zmluvu s Taiwom". MY Nitra. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  5. "Zbrojovka přivedla portugalského beka Gomeze a nigerijského útočníka Taiwa". Brnensky Denik. 25 September 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  6. "Abdulrahman Taiwo Nitra - Soccer iDNES.cz". iDNES.cz. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  7. "Pod Zoborom začala zimná príprava". FC Nitra. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  8. "Z Nitry do AS Rím a naspäť: Najväčší slovenský útočnícky talent je späť". Sport7. 18 January 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  9. "NIT 3-0 BRN - Nitra - Brno - Match Summary". FlashScore. 30 June 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  10. "MTK 3-3 NIT - MTK Budapest - Nitra - Match Summary". FlashScore. 7 July 2018. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  11. "Posila do útoku. Karviná získala Taiwa z Nigérie". Deník. 22 January 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  12. "Nigerijský hráč Karviné Abdulrahman Taiwo: Všichni v klubu jsme jako rodina". Deník. 9 June 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  13. NIGERIANSK ANGRIBER TIL SØNDERJYSKE, soenderjyske.dk, 19 August 2021
  14. Splid i SønderjyskE: Uærlig Taiwo er sendt på U19-holdet, bold.dk, 5 September 2022
  15. Do Spartaka prichádza Taiwo, fcspartaktrnava.com, 6 September 2022
  16. TAIWO UDLEJES TIL SLOVAKISK KLUB, soenderjyske.dk, 6 September 2022
  17. Ďurinský, Samuel (6 September 2022). "Do Spartaka prichádza Taiwo". FC Spartak Trnava. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  18. "FC ViOn Zlaté Moravce - Vráble - FC Spartak Trnava | Detail zápasu". Niké liga. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  19. "Gólové hody medzi Trnavou a Žilinou. Spartak prestrieľal súpera, Taiwo zaknihoval hetrik". Šport 24 (in Slovak). 20 May 2023. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  20. "Abdulrahman Taiwo". Niké liga. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  21. s.r.o, Global24 (22 May 2023). "Spartak na záver nedal šancu Žiline: Taiwo sa blysol HETRIKOM". Trnava24.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 7 September 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  22. spartak (20 May 2023). "Taiwo hetrikom zostrelil Žilinu". FC Spartak Trnava. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  23. "V závere prestupového obdobia oznámil futbalový klub Spartak Trnava ešte dve posily". Denník N (in Slovak). 7 September 2025. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  24. Reporter, Score Nigeria (16 July 2023). "Ex-Nigeria U23 star Abdulrahman Taiwo quits Danish club". Score Nigeria. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  25. Oyebola, Mike (17 July 2023). "Transfer: Latvian club, Riga FC announce signing of Nigerian forward". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  26. Reporter, Score Nigeria (24 July 2023). "Taiwo catches the eye with brace on debut". Score Nigeria. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  27. Fullerton, Gareth (31 July 2024). "Auda vs Cliftonville as it happened in the UEFA Conference League". Belfast Live. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  28. "Spartak Trnava potvrdil príchod ďalšej posily | TVNOVINY.sk". tvnoviny.sk (in Slovak). 6 September 2025. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  29. redakcia@trnavskyhlas.sk. "Spartak získal v závere prestupového obdobia dve posily, do Trnavy sa vracia Taiwo". Trnavský Hlas. Retrieved 7 September 2025.
  30. Šport.sk (10 September 2025). "Stačilo 12 minút a prestupová bomba Spartaka by nevybuchla. Kanonier Trnavy chce zosadiť Slovan". Šport.sk. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  31. Ďurinský, Samuel (13 September 2025). "Spartak späť na víťaznej vlne!". FC Spartak Trnava (in Slovak). Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  32. redakcia@trnavskyhlas.sk. "Spartak vysoko vyhral v Skalici, Taiwo zariadil vylúčenie, dal gól, no zranil sa". Trnavský Hlas. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  33. "Kelechi Iheanacho included in Nigeria's Olympics squad". BBC Sport. 24 June 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  34. "Siasia names Mikel, 17 others for Rio 2016". Pulse. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2018.
  35. "Transfer: Three-time Latvian champions recruit former Nigeria youth international - Soccernet NG". 17 July 2023. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  36. "Siasia names Okechukwu, Awoniyi, 18 others for Suwon pre-Olympics tournament". Goal. 27 May 2016. Retrieved 4 August 2018.