Nottingham Forest Football Club has confirmed the signing of Nigerian international forward, Taiwo Awoniyi, for a club-record fee.
The 24-year-old Nigerian joins The Reds from Bundesliga club Union Berlin, signing a five-year deal at The City Ground.
Awoniyi becomes Forest’s first international signing since their recent promotion to the Premier League and he joins after an excellent season in Germany, scoring 20 goals in 43 games in all competitions. Awoniyi’s 15 goals in 31 Bundesliga matches helped Union Berlin secure a fifth-place finish and qualification for the UEFA Europa League for the first time since 2001.
While talking about his transfer to Forest, Awoniyi said: “I’m very excited to be here at Nottingham Forest. It’s always been my dream to play in the Premier League and having spoken to Steve Cooper about our ambitions and looking at Forest, with its great history, it’s a club I want to be part of.”
Awoniyi started his professional career at Liverpool in 2015 before having loan spells at FSV Frankfurt, NEC, Mouscron, Gent and Mainz 05. He joined Union Berlin on loan during the 2020-21 season and made the move permanent last July.
Having represented Nigeria at U17s, U20s and U23s level, Awoniyi won the first of his three caps for the Nigeria national team against the Central African Republic in October 2021 and scored his first goal against Sudan in January at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Head Coach Steve Cooper said: “There’s been a lot of interest in Taiwo from other Premier League clubs, and other clubs across Europe, so we’re delighted that he’s chosen Nottingham Forest.
“Our recruitment and coaching teams have been monitoring his progress closely over the last few months. 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.”
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