The first foreign player to join a newly promoted Premier League team this summer is Nigerian international Taiwo Awoniyi, who signs a five-year contract with Nottingham Forest from Bundesliga club Union Berlin. Last season, the forward scored 20 goals in 43 games across all competitions.
For an estimated £17.5 million, Nottingham Forest has acquired Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi from Union Berlin.
The 24-year-old makes a five-year contract to transfer from the Bundesliga team to Forest, becoming the first summer signing from outside the European Union for the newly-promoted Premier League team.
In 43 games last season in all competitions, Awoniyi scored 20 goals. The fifth-place result and first-time Europa League qualification for Union Berlin since 2001/2002 were both made possible by his 15 goals in 31 Bundesliga games.
“I’m very excited to be here at Nottingham Forest,” Awoniyi said following his move to The City Ground. “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 that I want to be part of.
Awoniyi signed for the Merseyside club in 2015 and made his debut there before spending time on loan at FSV Frankfurt, NEC, Mouscron, Gent, and Mainz 05.
During the 2020–21 campaign, he made a temporary loan move to Union Berlin, which he later made permanent.
Awoniyi, who had previously played for Nigeria at the U17, U20, and U23 levels, earned his first of three caps for his country against the Central African Republic in October 2021 and scored his first goal against Sudan in January at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Steve Cooper, the Forest head coach, stated that the club is thrilled that Taiwo picked Nottingham Forest despite intense interest from rival Premier League teams and other clubs throughout Europe.
“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 fulfill his potential and become a top Premier League striker with Nottingham Forest.”
Steve Cooper
