Hull, Derby battle for Durosinmi

Hull City and Derby County are among several English sides set for a January confrontation over Nigerian forward Rafiu Durosinmi, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

According to Football Insider, both clubs are monitoring the Nigerian ahead of the winter window.

Derby County enter the break in strong form after five consecutive wins lifted them to tenth in the Championship, while Hull City sit fifth following an encouraging start to the season.

Both clubs reshaped their squads significantly in the summer, with Derby County investing heavily under John Eustace and Hull City navigating a turbulent period marked by financial embargoes before managing to reinforce their ranks.

Further recruitment is expected in January, and Football Insider reports that Durosinmi is emerging as a shared target.

The report says Oxford United are also interested, while League One side Huddersfield Town are considering what it describes as an ambitious attempt to sign him.

“Hull City, Derby County, Oxford and Huddersfield Town have all registered their interest in a deal,” Football Insider reported.

Durosinmi is out of contract with Viktoria Plzen in the summer, placing him within reach for a reduced fee. Football Insider claims an offer of around £5.7m may be enough to bring the striker to England in January.

“The Nigerian hit-man is entering the final six months of his contract at Plzen and he could be available for a cut-price fee of £5.7million (€6.5m) in January.”

The forward began his career at Box2Box FC in Nigeria before moving to Europe with MFK Karvina in 2022. He joined Viktoria Plzen six months later for around €850,000 after only a handful of appearances in Slovakia.

He made an immediate impact in the Czech top flight, becoming one of the league’s standout forwards before his progress was interrupted by two anterior cruciate ligament ruptures in 2023 and 2024, which kept him out for almost a season and a half.

Despite those setbacks, the 22-year-old has enjoyed a strong return in the 2025–26 campaign, scoring 11 goals in 24 matches. His tally includes two goals in the Champions League and two in the Europa League from four appearances in each competition.

Across his career, he has scored 33 goals and provided 10 assists in 80 appearances for Viktoria Plzen, following 10 goals and six assists in 39 games for Karvina.

This is the second time in recent weeks that Hull City and Derby County have been linked with the same player, after both were reported to be exploring a possible loan move for Leeds United forward Harry Gray.

Their shared interest in Durosinmi reinforces suggestions that each club is seeking further attacking reinforcements as they push to stay within the play-off picture.

Hull City are expected to prioritise a long-term option up front, with Oli McBurnie approaching the latter stages of his career, while Derby County already have considerable attacking depth but remain keen to strengthen. The coming weeks will determine whether either club chooses to act on their interest when the window opens in January.