“Who will replace him?” – Coach laments Super Eagles star’s imminent departure after excellent two-goal display

The Nigerian international was the match-winner for the Slavists at the weekend, but his days in the Czech Republic are numbered

Slavia Prague head coach Jindřich Trpišovský is concerned about how the club would find a quality replacement for Peter Olayinka when the Super Eagles winger leaves the club this summer.

Olayinka has been with SK Slavia Prague since 2018 when he joined from Belgian side KAA Gent for €3.20 million.

The 27-year-old has gone on to represent the Slavists 174 times, scoring 46 goals and providing 25 assists, while winning three league titles and two cups.

But Olayinka’s time in the Czech Republic is about to come to an end as his contract with Slavia expires in June. The forward already has an agreement in place to join Serbian giants Partizan Belgrade on a free transfer on the first of July.

There has been pressure on Slavia Prague’s coach Jindřich Trpišovský to drop the Nigerian star to the bench after he committed his future to another club.

But the veteran gaffer ignored those calls and has continued to include Olayinka in his starting lineup. Meanwhile, the former Zulte Waregem forward repaid the coach’s trust at the weekend when he scored both goals to power Slavia to a 2-0 win over Slovacko on Sunday.

Coach Trpišovský maintains he is happy to keep playing Olayinka and that his worry is how to find a capable replacement when the versatile winger departs.

What has been said?

“I’m glad it turned out that Olie is playing. He is an important player for us,” Trpišovský told the club’s official website.

“I wonder what will happen when he leaves. Whenever we discuss with the scouts who we want on the wing, I say the new Olayinka. In four years, we haven’t quite managed to find someone like him.

“He’s not perfect, of course, but the utility of the player is unreal. A productive and emotional player who can tear down a team. He is not afraid of tense situations where he wants to be the key man.

“I wonder what will happen when he leaves, who will replace him.”

The win over Slovacko sent Slavia back to the top of the Czech Liga with a two-point advantage over Viktoria Plzen.

Trpišovský insists having a player of Olayinka’s quality in the team will only help in achieving the season’s objective of winning the Liga title.

“Olie will finish the season with us, which is always better for players than leaving in the winter,” Trpišovský added.

“At that moment, when it was clear that he was going to stay, there was no big debate about it. The players should finish it in those clubs. Then if the club has nothing to play for, it can give priority to other players, but when there is something to play for, you have to use the maximum potential of the team.

“When it was clear that Olie would stay here, I wanted him to help us as much as possible in the spring.” Says the 47-year-old.

Deployed often as a winger and sometimes as a centre-forward, Olayinka has contributed 20 goals (14 goals, 6 assists) in 28 appearances for Slavia this season.