Kehinde Fatai

Kehinde Fatai
Fatai with Ufa in 2016
Personal information
Full name Kehinde Abdul Feyi Fatai
Date of birth (1990-02-19) 19 February 1990 (age 34)
Place of birth Jos, Nigeria[1]
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s) Striker
Team information
Current team
 AEL
Number 7
Youth career
–2007 JUTH
2007–2008 Farul Constanța
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2007–2008 Farul II Constanța 20 (11)
2008–2010 Farul Constanța 46 (7)
2010–2015 Astra Giurgiu 114 (41)
2013–2014 → Club Brugge (loan) 8 (1)
2015–2016 Sparta Prague 24 (8)
2016–2018 Ufa 41 (6)
2018–2019 Dinamo Minsk 32 (8)
2020–2021 Astra Giurgiu 14 (2)
2021–2022 Argeș Pitești 21 (2)
2022 Turan 5 (0)
2023–2024 Oțelul Galați 30 (4)
2024– AEL 15 (6)
International career
2009 Nigeria U20 3 (1)
2011–2012 Nigeria U23 7 (4)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 17:00, 14 December 2024 (UTC)

Kehinde Abdul Feyi Fatai (born 19 February 1990)[3] is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Greek Super League 2 club AEL.

Club career

Early career & Romanian Liga I

Fatai was in Nigeria with the Anwar-ul-Islam College[4] and played for JUTH F.C.[5] He left for Europe in July 2007,[6] joining FC Farul Constanța of Romania. Initially, he played in the third league of Romania for the reserve team and scored 11 goals in 20 games.[7] In the following 2008–09 season Fatai was promoted to Farul Constanța's senior team.[8] On 16 June 2010, he signed with Liga I club Astra Giurgiu on a free transfer, after his contract with Farul Constanța had ended.[9]

Club Brugge

On 1 September 2013, Belgian club Club Brugge confirmed Fatai’s signing on a season long loan from Astra, with an option to buy.[10] On 22 September 2013, he came on for his debut as an 80th-minute substitute and needed only seven minutes to break the deadlock with a shot in Club Brugge's 4-0 win over fierce rivals Anderlecht.[11]

AC Sparta Prague

In May 2015, Fatai signed for Czech club AC Sparta Prague on a three-year contract.[12]

As a striker, he scored only one goal in eight league matches for Sparta Prague. This bad form in front of goal led to his playing as a wide midfielder instead. After this position change, he went on to score five goals in three matches.[13]

FC Ufa

On 12 August 2016, he signed a 3-year contract with the Russian Premier League side FC Ufa.[14] He was released from his Ufa contract by mutual consent on 14 August 2018.[15]

Return to Romania

On 23 February 2023, Fatai returned to Romania and signed a contract with Oțelul Galați in Liga II until the end of the 2022–23 season, with an option to extend for one more year.[16]

International career

Fatai was called up to the Nigeria U-23 team in 2011 for a friendly against Costa Rica. On 4 June he was selected for a qualifying match for the 2012 Summer Olympics against Tanzania.[17]

On 24 October 2015, Fatai said he had promised the Romania national team officials that he would represent Romania on the senior level upon gaining citizenship.[18]

Personal life

Kehinde Fatai's twin brother, Taiye is also a footballer who spent most of his career in the lower leagues of Romania playing for teams like FCM Alexandria or ACS Berceni.[19][20][21] Another one of his brothers, Yunus is a footballer who played in the lower leagues of Romania at Astra II and Dacia Unirea Brăila.[22] He has a total of four brothers and a sister.[23]

Career statistics

Club

As of 30 January 2024[24][7][25]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Continental Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Farul II Constanța 2007–08 20 11 0 0 – – 20 11
Farul Constanța 2007–08 5 0 0 0 – – 5 0
2008–09 23 0 1 0 – – 24 0
2009–10 18 7 0 0 – – 18 7
Total 46 7 1 0 0 0 0 0 47 7
Astra Giurgiu 2010–11 27 7 1 0 – – 28 7
2011–12 30 10 2 1 – – 32 11
2012–13 33 14 4 2 – – 37 16
2013–14 3 3 – 6 1 – 9 4
2014–15 21 7 0 0 6 4 5[a] 3 32 14
2019–20 10 2 – – – 10 2
2020–21 4 0 0 0 – – 4 0
Total 128 43 7 3 12 5 5 3 152 54
Club Brugge (loan) 2013–14 8 1 2 0 – – 10 1
Sparta Prague 2015–16 24 8 6 1 16 5 – 46 14
2016–17 0 0 – 1 0 – 1 0
Total 24 8 6 1 17 5 0 0 47 14
Ufa 2016–17 22 6 2 0 - – 24 6
2017–18 17 0 0 0 – – 17 0
2018–19 2 0 –"|– 3 0 – 5 0
Total 41 6 2 0 3 0 0 0 46 6
Dinamo Minsk 2018 9 5 3 0 – – 12 5
2019 23 3 1 1 2 0 – 26 4
Total 32 8 4 1 2 0 0 0 38 9
Argeș Pitești 2021–22 21 2 2 0 – –"|– 23 2
Turan 2022 5 0 – – – 5 0
Oțelul Galați 2022–23 12 3 – – – 12 3
2023–24 18 1 3 0 – – 21 1
Total 30 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 33 4
Career total 355 90 27 5 34 10 5 3 421 108
  1. ^ One appearance in Supercupa României, four appearances in Cupa Ligii and three goals

Honours

Astra Giurgiu

References

  1. ^ Kehinde Fatai signs 3-year deal with Russian club Ufa, africanfootball.com
  2. ^ AS, Diario (17 June 2021). "Fatai (Kehinde Fatai)". AS.com. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
  3. ^ Player Card :: Kehinde Fatai - IMScouting
  4. ^ Welcome to Anwar-ul-islam College Old Students Association Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Ik wil via sterke prestaties lang bij Club blijven"
  6. ^ LA 52 DE ANI, ION MARIN A DEVENIT "TĂTICUL" A 4 NIGERIENI - Copiii lui Moş Marin
  7. ^ a b Kehinde Fatai at RomanianSoccer.ro (in Romanian)
  8. ^ Faristul Kehinde Fatai a prins lotul Nigeriei pentru Mondialele Under-20
  9. ^ Dennis Şerban ia jucători de la Farul
  10. ^ "Kehinde Fatai voor 1 seizoen naar Club" (in Dutch). clubbrugge.be. 1 September 2013.
  11. ^ "Anderlecht se prend une claque à Bruges (4-0)" (in French). La Dernière Heure. 22 September 2013.
  12. ^ "KEHINDE FATAI JOINS CZECH CLUB SPARTA PRAGUE". African Football. 20 June 2015.
  13. ^ "I'm used to huge stadiums full of people, says marksman Fatai" (in Czech). iDNES. 22 October 2015.
  14. ^ Кехинде Фатаи перешел в «Уфу» (in Russian). FC Ufa. 12 August 2016. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  15. ^ "Кехинде Фатаи покидает ФК "Уфа" (Kehinde Fatai leaves FC Ufa)" (in Russian). FC Ufa. 14 August 2018. Archived from the original on 14 August 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  16. ^ "Bun venit la Oțelul, Kehinde Fatai!" [Welcome to Oțelul, Kehinde Fatai!] (in Romanian). Oțelul Galați. 23 February 2023. Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  17. ^ "Fatai mai face un pas (Romanian)". fcastraploiesti.ro. 19 May 2011. Archived from the original on 8 October 2011.
  18. ^ "Sparta player Fatai will represent Romania, he said to the club magazine". iDNES.cz (in Czech). 24 October 2015.
  19. ^ "Fratele lui Kehinde Fatai este in probe la FCM Alexandria" [Kehinde Fatai's brother is on trial at FCM Alexandria] (in Romanian). teresport.ro. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  20. ^ "Fratele lui Kehinde Fatai a ajuns la Tunari! Echipa lui Bratu s-a impus în amicalul cu Sportul Studențesc" [Kehinde Fatai's brother arrived at Tunari! Bratu's team won with Sportul Studenţesc] (in Romanian). ilfovsport.ro. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  21. ^ "Fratele geamăn al lui Fatai dă probe în Zăvoi" [Fatai's twin brother is on trial in Zăvoi] (in Romanian). replicaonline.ro. Retrieved 7 October 2017.
  22. ^ "Patru stranieri au semnat deja cu Dacia Unirea" [Four foreigners have already signed the Dacia Unirea] (in Romanian). Obiectivbr.ro. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  23. ^ "Fatai "trădează" Nigeria, deşi are o situaţie senzaţională acasă!" [Fatai "betrays" Nigeria, although she has a sensational situation at home!] (in Romanian). Libertatea.ro. 3 August 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2019.
  24. ^ a b Kehinde Fatai at Soccerway Edit this at Wikidata
  25. ^ "Fatai's 2008–09 Romanian Cup appearance". Romaniansoccer.ro. Retrieved 23 June 2019.