Just a week before Coventry’s first top flight season in 25 years, Frank Lampard has moved to bring in Taiwo Awoniyi as the man to lead his line.
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Super Eagles striker Taiwo Awoniyi is closing in on a shock £17 million move from Nottingham Forest to newly promoted Coventry City, after Coventry boss Frank Lampard made a personal request for his signature.
Lampard is understood to have specifically pushed for Awoniyi to join, with a view to making him his focal point in attack as Coventry prepare for their first season back in the Premier League after a 25 year absence. Awoniyi has already been given permission by Forest’s hierarchy to undergo a medical ahead of the move.
An Immediate Route Into The Coventry XI
The move offers Awoniyi a fresh opportunity for regular playing time, with strong indications he could go straight into Coventry’s starting eleven for their opening match of the new campaign, their first top flight fixture in a quarter of a century. According to talkSPORT, Awoniyi has featured regularly for Forest in pre-season under new boss Oliver Glasner, scoring once, and is set to depart after a 45-minute appearance in the club’s final pre-season friendly against Bayer Leverkusen.
Awoniyi joined Forest in 2022 and leaves after 103 appearances, 23 goals and six assists across four years at the City Ground, a spell that included a memorable late run of six goals that helped save Forest from relegation to the Championship three seasons ago. At Coventry, he reunites with fellow Super Eagles international Frank Onyeka, while leaving countryman Ola Aina behind at Forest.
A Notable Shift In Direction
The move is a striking turn given Awoniyi insisted earlier this year that Forest remained home for him and his family and that he was not considering an exit, and comes shortly after reports linking him with a separate move to Turkish side Caykur Rizespor. Coventry, for their part, have already broken their transfer record multiple times this summer across six signings, underlining the scale of their ambition heading into the new Premier League season.
📌 Did You Know?
- Coventry City’s return to the Premier League ends a 25 year absence from English football’s top flight.
- Awoniyi was part of Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets squad that won the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in the UAE, a triumph that first put him on Liverpool’s radar.
- Despite signing for Liverpool as a teenager, Awoniyi never made a single competitive appearance for the club, spending six years out on loan across Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
- His late run of six goals in the 2022/23 season played a direct role in helping Nottingham Forest preserve their Premier League status following promotion.
- Frank Onyeka, Awoniyi’s new Coventry teammate, has represented Nigeria at senior level and previously played in the Bundesliga before moving to England.
- Awoniyi turned 29 earlier this month, and the Coventry move represents a significant new chapter as he enters the back half of his playing career.
- Coventry have broken their club transfer record multiple times this summer, with the Awoniyi deal reportedly set to be among their most significant outlays.
