Taiwo Awoniyi has confirmed he was contacted for the Super Eagles’ Unity Cup squad but chose to stay away for personal reasons, as questions about his Nottingham Forest future continue to hang in the air heading into the summer window.
Taiwo Awoniyi was available for the Unity Cup. He just did not go. The Nottingham Forest striker has broken his silence on his absence from Nigeria’s triumphant squad in London, confirming in an interview with SportsBoom that he turned down the call-up for personal reasons, not because he was overlooked. “I was supposed to be in the Super Eagles camp, but I opted out because of personal reasons I have to attend to,” Awoniyi told the outlet.
The 28-year-old did not elaborate on what those personal reasons were, but his statement clears up speculation that he had been dropped. Eric Chelle had named him in the original squad picture and Awoniyi was very much on the coach’s radar heading into the tournament, particularly after ending the Premier League season in strong form under Vitor Pereira at the City Ground.
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Form That Made Him Hard to Ignore
The backdrop to Awoniyi’s absence makes it a more intriguing story. He had just delivered one of his best performances of the season at Stamford Bridge, scoring twice in a 3-1 win over Chelsea on his 100th appearance for Nottingham Forest. He also contributed three goals and two assists in his final five Premier League matches of the campaign, a late run of form that had put him firmly back in the conversation at club level after a difficult year.
His 2025/26 season was heavily disrupted by a run of injuries. A hamstring problem in April, surgery in May 2025, and a muscle injury in November all cost him significant time, leaving him with just 11 Premier League appearances by the end of the campaign. Pereira had consistently preferred Chris Wood and Igor Jesus ahead of him when all three were available, leaving Awoniyi with a rotational role that limited his consistency. The late flurry of goals was enough to remind people what he can do, but not enough to fully recapture the momentum he had built in previous seasons.
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Humble Despite Being Sidelined
What stood out in Awoniyi’s interview was his measured response about his international standing. Rather than push for recognition or signal frustration, he accepted that the squad is full of quality. “We have lots of talents in the Super Eagles, so for me, everyone that is in the team for the June friendlies is as good as me, just as I’m as good as them,” he said. It’s a grounded take for a player who has faced his share of setbacks and could easily have used the platform to make a different kind of statement.
In Awoniyi’s place at the Unity Cup, Femi Azeez delivered a standout showing. The Millwall winger scored twice against Zimbabwe in the semi-final before setting up Terem Moffi’s header in the final against Jamaica, where Alhassan Yusuf Abdullahi bagged a brace in a 3-0 victory. Chelle successfully defended the Unity Cup title, a year on from winning the tournament at Brentford’s Gtech Community Stadium. The form of Azeez and others means Awoniyi will need to be at his best in order to force his way into Chelle’s plans for the Poland and Portugal trip, let alone beyond.
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A Contract Question That Won’t Go Away
Off the pitch, Awoniyi’s Nottingham Forest future is far from settled. His contract runs until June 2027, but renewal talks are reported to be on hold. Forest are expected to make a decision on whether to sell him this summer rather than risk losing him for nothing the following year. Transfermarkt currently values him at €8 million, and with Liverpool holding a 10 percent sell-on clause from his Union Berlin departure, any transfer would carry additional considerations.
Awoniyi himself says he wants to stay at Forest and believes the club will improve next season. But in a summer where the club is rebuilding and strikers are being assessed, his situation will be one of the defining decisions facing the Tricky Trees before the window closes.
📌 Did You Know?
- Taiwo Awoniyi was born on August 12, 1997 in Ilorin, Kwara State. He came through the academy system of International Football Academy Nigeria before joining Liverpool as a teenager, though he never made a competitive appearance for the Reds during his time on the books there.
- Liverpool sold Awoniyi to Union Berlin in July 2021 for €8.6 million, having negotiated a 10 percent sell-on clause. When Forest signed him from Union Berlin the following summer for €20.5 million, that clause meant a portion of the fee flowed back to Anfield.
- Awoniyi scored a famous header against Manchester City in the final minute of the 2022/23 Premier League season, sealing a 1-0 victory that helped Nottingham Forest survive relegation. That goal remains one of the most dramatic moments in recent City Ground history.
- During his time on loan from Liverpool, Awoniyi represented six different European clubs: Mouscron, NEC Nijmegen, Gent, Mainz, Union Berlin (twice), and Royal Antwerp. The spell at Union Berlin in the 2021/22 season, when he scored 15 Bundesliga goals, was the one that led to his permanent transfer.
- Chelle’s Unity Cup squad, which won the tournament without Awoniyi, was largely made up of fringe players and emerging talents. The coach then named the main squad for the Poland and Portugal friendlies in June, signalling that Unity Cup absences do not automatically mean an international door is closed.
- Kelechi Iheanacho, who was also mentioned as a potential call-up alongside Awoniyi ahead of the Unity Cup, plays for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. His return to form in Scotland had generated fresh Super Eagles interest after several years out of the national team picture.
- Nottingham Forest finished the 2025/26 Premier League season in the top half of the table, their second consecutive campaign in the top flight after returning from the Championship in 2022. The club’s run of stability under Vitor Pereira has been partly built on the collective contribution of its Nigerian contingent, with Ola Aina and Awoniyi both featuring across the campaign.
