Nottingham Forest Saturday signed Nigeria forward Taiwo Awoniyi from Union Berlin for a club record fee. The 24-year-old joined newly promoted Forest on a five-year deal for a reported £17m.
Awoniyi scored 20 goals in 43 games across all competitions last season and becomes Forest’s first signing since gaining promotion back to the Premier League.
“It’s always been my dream to play in the Premier League,” said Awoniyi.
“Having spoken to (Forest boss) Steve Cooper about our ambitions and looking at Forest, with its great history, it’s a club that I want to be part of.”
After a season-long loan, Awoniyi joined Union Berlin on a permanent deal in July 2021 from Liverpool, where he started his career.
He did not make any first team appearances for Liverpool after signing for the club in 2015 and spent the majority of his six years with the Merseyside side out on loan.
Forest manager Cooper said Awoniyi was a player the club had been monitoring closely over the past few months.
“There’s been a lot of interest of Taiwo from other Premier League clubs, and other clubs across Europe, so we’re delighted he’s chosen Nottingham Forest,” Cooper said.
“He’s a player who we really believe in and we look forward to him going on to fulfil his potential and become a top Premier League striker with Nottingham Forest.”
But what will Awoniyi bring to Forest and what will his return to the Premier League look like?
Awoniyi the poacher
The Nigerian striker formed a potent partnership with two players for Union Berlin last season. Before last Christmas, it was Max Kruse who blossomed best alongside Awoniyi in a front-two, and then in the business end of the season, it was Sheraldo Becker who thrived alongside the Nigerian.
Both of these forwards complemented Awoniyi’s profile well and took the greater responsibility in possession. Meanwhile, Awoniyi was left with one task – to put the ball in the back of the net, which he did 20 times for Union last season.
According to Infogol’s xG data, Awoniyi’s quality of chances throughout the Bundesliga season amounted to 14.31 xG, which shows he finished his chances at an expected rate.
The impressive figure is the consistency with which he was getting on the end of good scoring chances, with his xG per 95 minutes standing at 0.61.
Space creation
Outside of his goal-scoring talents, Awoniyi brings other valuable assets to his team.
While he isn’t the tallest of strikers, standing at 5”10’, Awoniyi’s ability to win aerial duels is an incredibly useful asset when playing long and direct football to exploit any weaknesses in the opposition backline.
He is physically strong and is able to keep most centre backs occupied with his back to goal, which then creates space for runners off the ball to get into. He is also comfortable receiving long-passes and either bringing the ball down to keep possession or knock it on to a on-rushing team-mate of his.
The 24-year-old is especially effective in transition on the counter-attack and whilst he is not pacey, he is a deceptively quick runner in transition and is able to lose defenders with his physique who might try to steal the ball off of him.
Control his weakness
Where Awoniyi’s weaknesses lie is his limited ability in possession of the ball at his feet, he has never been required to be creative on the ball at Union, however, there are occasions where some of the team’s counter-attacks can break down because Awoniyi failed to find the all-important final pass to one of his team-mates.
His limited ability in possession needs to be compensated by surrounding him with players who can create and take advantage of the space he creates for them.
Will he thrive in EPL?
Historically speaking, transfers from the Bundesliga have been a mixed bag and in more recent seasons, the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz and Jadon Sancho have shown signs of promise but are yet to deliver at the same level they did for their former employers.
With Awoniyi, given the type of player he is and the style of football he has played at Union Berlin, there should be enough cause for optimism given that Forest will head into the 22/23 season as underdogs much like Union have been ever since they got promoted to the Bundesliga back in the 19/20 season.
Reaching the double figures mark in terms of goals will constitute a somewhat successful first season for Awoniyi.
What they are saying
European football journalist Andy Brassell believes Awoniyi will be “terrific” for Forest in an interview with Sky Sports News.
“I think it is a statement of intent. Awoniyi has been terrific for Union Berlin in the last couple of seasons and particularly last season.
“He’s their top goalscorer of all time in the topflight. You look at his strength and the variety of goals he scores, and he was the man who made sure they qualified for the Europa League at the end of the season.
“He’s someone who can create his own shot and pick up the pieces. What really impressed me about him is his really creative strike partner did a lot for him – Max Kruse. He moved on and went back to Wolfsburg in January, and Awoniyi took centre stage and is happy to really take responsibility for the attack.
“I think he’ll be absolutely terrific for Nottingham Forest.”
