Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi cannot play for Nottingham Forest in any Europa League match this season after being left off their UEFA registered squad, raising serious questions about his future at the City Ground.
When Nottingham Forest take on Danish club FC Midtjylland on Thursday night in the Europa League Round of 16 first leg at the City Ground, Taiwo Awoniyi won’t be anywhere near the matchday squad. Not because of injury. Not because of poor form in training. He simply doesn’t exist in Forest’s European plans this season. UEFA rules mean he can’t be added now. That door is firmly shut.
As FootballInNigeria.com.ng can confirm, a check of Nottingham Forest’s official squad list on the UEFA Europa League website confirms that Awoniyi is not registered for the competition. The club opted for forwards Chris Wood, Igor Jesus, and Lorenzo Lucca when they submitted their squad list at the start of the season. UEFA’s registration rules do not allow clubs to add players to their squad once the competition’s knockout phase is underway.
A Season That’s Gone Quiet
Awoniyi returned to full fitness earlier this year after a serious injury, and he had physically recovered well enough to have featured in Forest’s Round of 16 playoff tie against Fenerbahce. He wasn’t picked. That should have been the first clear signal about where things stand.
Under new coach VÃtor Pereira, who took charge in mid-February, Awoniyi has played just 20 minutes of football. Twenty minutes. For a striker of his quality and Premier League experience, that’s a stark reality. The Portuguese manager doesn’t appear to see Awoniyi as part of his immediate plans, and the striker’s lack of game time this season is starting to look like a long-term problem rather than a temporary setback.
The Squad Politics at Forest
Nottingham Forest have assembled serious forward options this season. Igor Jesus has been among the Europa League’s top scorers during the league phase. Lorenzo Lucca was brought in specifically to add depth. Even Chris Wood, despite fitness issues, has been trusted ahead of Awoniyi in the domestic schedule.
His Nigerian international teammate Ola Aina is registered in Forest’s Europa League squad and will play against Midtjylland. Aina has had a better season at the City Ground, cementing himself as a reliable first-team option. The contrast between the two Super Eagles players at the same club tells you something about how differently the season has gone for each of them.
For Awoniyi, the domestic Premier League remains his only stage. With Forest battling for a top-four finish and genuinely competing for major honours under Pereira, the hope is that consistent performances whenever he gets the call might change the manager’s mind for next season. But he’ll need those minutes first.
What Comes Next for Awoniyi
The summer transfer window looms as the most logical resolution point. Awoniyi joined Forest from Union Berlin in June 2022 for a then-club record fee of £17 million, and his first season was exceptional: 11 goals in 30 appearances, including 10 in the Premier League. That player exists. Supporters at the City Ground know it.
But two seasons of persistent injury, reduced game time, and now outright exclusion from a European squad tells a story of decline in standing. Saudi Arabia, Greece, and Turkey have all been mentioned as potential destinations. If Pereira doesn’t hand him meaningful minutes between now and May, a summer exit becomes not just possible but likely.
The Super Eagles need Awoniyi fit and playing regularly. Nigeria’s 2026 World Cup preparations are well underway, and strikers with Premier League experience don’t grow on trees. Fans tracking his fortunes and Nigeria’s World Cup qualification journey can also leverage the Bet9ja YOHAIG promo code to build accumulators across the international schedule, maximising value as Nigerian players compete at club and international level.
Forest vs Midtjylland: What to Expect
Nottingham Forest are genuine contenders in this competition. They’re back in European football after a 30-year absence, and the squad Pereira has at his disposal is talented enough to go deep. Midtjylland are organised and disciplined, but Forest have home advantage in the first leg and a crowd that has been one of the most electric in the Premier League this season.
Awoniyi will watch from wherever he watches. His phone will be on. His boots will be clean. The question is whether anyone at the City Ground gives him a reason to use them before the season is out.
📌 Did You Know?
- Awoniyi spent six years on loan at various European clubs after signing for Liverpool as a teenager, but never made a single senior appearance for the Reds due to work permit restrictions.
- Nottingham Forest’s £17 million fee for Awoniyi in June 2022 was a club record at the time, and he repaid it immediately with 10 Premier League goals in his debut season.
- In April 2024, Awoniyi suffered a ruptured intestine during a match and was placed in an induced coma to aid his recovery, a near-fatal incident that shook the Nigerian football community deeply.
- Awoniyi’s Europa League exclusion means Nottingham Forest face Midtjylland, a club he played against during his time in German football, without one of their highest-profile Nigerian internationals available.
- Forest are returning to European competition this season for the first time since their back-to-back European Cup victories in 1979 and 1980 under Brian Clough, a 30-year wait that ended with their qualification last term.
- Igor Jesus, the Brazilian striker preferred to Awoniyi in Forest’s Europa League squad, has scored 7 goals in the competition this season, making him one of the tournament’s joint-top scorers.
- Awoniyi has scored 7 goals in 20 Super Eagles appearances for Nigeria, and a return to regular club football is considered critical to his chances of featuring prominently in Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA World Cup plans.
