Dagenham & Redbridge have signed wing-back Rafiq Khaleel on a permanent transfer from Crawley Town.
The 21-year-old has played just once for The Red Devils in League One this season, against Rotherham United in November, and seven games total this season.
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The Moroccan joined the Sussex club in 2020 and slowly eeked his way into the squad, making his debut in September of that year. He went on loan twice to Gosport Borough and Kings Langley FC.
He has often been a player on the peripheries at Broadfield, making 17 appearances in 2022/23, the highest he would get in any season of his career there.
He joins a Dagenham & Redbridge side languishing in midtable in the National League, sitting in 16th place ahead of their home game against promotion hopefuls Forest Green Rovers. They have signed another EFL players in former Morecambe man Kayden Harrack but have lost many faces to loan recalls, such as Tim Akinola from Chesterfield and Romoney Crichlow to Peterborough United, and later joining Bradford City.
Writer’s View
Rafiq Khaleel has struggled to find game time at Crawley so taking a couple of steps down will enable him to play some regular football. Dagenham & Redbridge are in a stable place albeit much lower in the National League table than they would like. It is the very early stages of Lewis Young’s time in charge but he looks to be sticking with a back four. He should be a good foil to current first choice at right back in Oscar Rutherford.
