| Rafiq Khaleel | |
| Fullname: | Rafiq Salah-Edine Khaleel[1] |
| Birth Date: | 24 February 2003 |
| Birth Place: | Camden, England |
| Height: | 1.77m (05.81feet) |
| Position: | Midfielder |
| Currentclub: | Crawley Town |
| Clubnumber: | 27 |
| Youthclubs1: | Cheshunt |
| Years1: | 2020– |
| Clubs1: | Crawley Town |
| Caps1: | 22 |
| Goals1: | 1 |
| Years2: | 2021 |
| Clubs2: | → Kings Langley (loan) |
| Caps2: | 2 |
| Goals2: | 0 |
| Years3: | 2022 |
| Clubs3: | → Gosport Borough (loan) |
| Caps3: | 2 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Club-Update: | 22:15, 21 August 2024 (UTC) |
Rafiq Salah-Edine Khaleel (born 24 February 2003) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Crawley Town.
Khaleel was born in Camden, and is of Moroccan descent.[2]
He played youth football for Camden Elite and Cheshunt.[3] [4] On 28 February 2020, Khaleel signed for League Two club Crawley Town on a two-and-a-half-year deal.[5] [6] He made his debut for the club on 13 October 2020 as a second-half substitute for Samuel Matthews in a 2–1 EFL Trophy defeat to Arsenal U21, before making his full debut the following month in a 2–0 home victory over Ipswich Town, again in the EFL Trophy. He joined Premier League side West Ham United on a trial spell in April 2021.
In November 2021, he joined Southern League Premier Division South club Kings Langley on loan until January 2022.[7] He made his debut as a 63rd minute substitute in a 2–1 win over Hayes & Yeading on 27 November 2021. He made 2 appearances on loan at the club. On 1 February 2022, Khaleel joined Southern League Premier Division South side Gosport Borough on loan for the remainder of the 2021–22 season.[8] He made his debut for the club as a substitute in their 1–0 win away to Hendon later that day.[9]
On 30 December 2022, Khaleel made his first league appearance for Crawley as a substitute in a 3–1 defeat to Stevenage. He was given his first start for the club in the first match the following month by new manager Scott Lindsey in a 3–2 win over Salford City.[10] He scored his first goal for the club on 21 March 2023 with an 82nd-minute equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Doncaster Rovers.[11] After making 14 league appearances during the 2022–23 season, Khaleel signed a new two-year contract in June 2023.[12]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | EFL Cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Crawley Town | 2020–21 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2021–22 | League Two | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2022–23 | League Two | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||
| 2023–24 | League Two | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ||
| Total | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 22 | 2 | |||
| Kings Langley (loan) | 2021–22[13] | Southern League Premier Division South | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Gosport Borough (loan) | 2021–22 | Southern League Premier Division South | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 26 | 2 | |||