Taiwo Micheal Awoniyi (born 12 August 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Nottingham Forest and the Nigeria national team.
In 2010, Awoniyi was voted the Most Valuable Player at a Coca-Cola football competition in London. His performance at the competition was spotted by Seyi Olofinjana who invited him to join the Imperial Soccer Academy.[4]
On 31 August 2015, Awoniyi signed for English club Liverpool for a fee of around £400,000 but was immediately loaned out to German team FSV Frankfurt.[5][6]
Awoniyi made his debut for Frankfurt as a late substitute in a German Cup match against Hertha Berlin. After being named as a substitute for six league matches, he made his debut on 19 February 2016, playing 89 minutes against FC St. Pauli.[7] Awoniyi suffered relegation with Frankfurt, and he returned to Liverpool at the end of the season.
On 26 August 2016, Dutch team NEC confirmed that Awoniyi had joined them on a season-long loan and was expected to join the squad the following week after the formalities of his work permit were completed.[8] On 10 September, he made his Eredivisie debut in a 4–0 defeat of NEC to PSV Eindhoven, being replaced in the 72nd minute by Michael Heinloth.[9] With NEC, the Nigerian suffered his second consecutive relegation, being relegated from Eredivisie in 2017.[10]
In July 2017, Awoniyi left NEC and joined Belgian club Royal Excel Mouscron on a season-long loan, and made his debut on 12 August when he started the match against KSC Lokeren, scoring within 22 minutes.[11]
On 17 July 2018, Awoniyi signed a new long-term deal with Liverpool,[12] and on 23 July sealed a season-long loan to another Belgian club, Gent.[13] On 11 January 2019, it was announced that his loan to Gent was cut short, and Awoniyi was loaned to Mouscron again.[14] In April he said that his struggle to get a UK work permit could end his Liverpool career.[15]
On 6 August 2019, Liverpool confirmed Awoniyi had joined Bundesliga side Mainz 05 on a season-long loan.[16] He was hospitalised in June 2020, after sustaining a severe concussion during a 1–0 loss to FC Augsburg in the league.[17]
On 19 September 2020, Awoniyi left for his seventh loan spell, this time joining Bundesliga side Union Berlin for a year.[18]
On 20 July 2021, Awoniyi rejoined Union Berlin, this time on a permanent basis.[19] The German club reportedly paid £6.5 million for the forward.[20] Liverpool negotiated a 10% sell-on clause in this deal.[21]
On 25 June 2022, Awoniyi completed a move to newly promoted Premier League side Nottingham Forest on a five-year deal.[22] The transfer fee paid was a club record for Forest, reportedly £17 million.[23] On 14 August 2022, he scored his first Premier League goal in a 1–0 win against West Ham United.[24] On 22 October 2022, he scored the winning goal in a 1–0 home victory against former club Liverpool.[25] Towards the end of the season he scored six goals in four games, including the winner in a 1–0 home win over Arsenal on 20 May 2023 that preserved the club's Premier League status.[26]
On 18 August 2023, Awoniyi became the first Forest player to score in six consecutive Premier League matches since Stan Collymore in March–April 1995.[27]
On 11 May 2025, Awoniyi suffered a serious abdominal injury during a game against Leicester City. Two days later, on 13 May 2025, the club announced that Awoniyi had been placed in an induced coma and was recovering in the ICU following urgent surgery.[28][29] On 15 May he was announced to be out of the coma and in recovery.[30]
Awoniyi represented Nigeria at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup and went on to win the tournament, scoring four goals during the competition.[31] He also represented Nigeria at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand after winning the 2015 African U-20 Championship in Senegal.[32]
On 12 April 2015, Awoniyi scored a brace on his debut for the Nigeria under-23 team in a match against Zambia, as his team went on to qualify for the 2015 All African Games.[33]
Awoniyi was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[34]
Awoniyi was selected by Gernot Rohr in late 2021 to represent Nigeria during the side's 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, making his senior debut in their 1–0 loss to the Central African Republic.[35] Awoniyi was then selected to represent Nigeria at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, where he led the line for his country throughout the tournament.[36] His only goal during the tournament came in a 3–1 group stage win against Sudan.[37]
Parallels have been drawn between Awoniyi's style of play, and that of Rashidi Yekini, Nigeria's all-time highest goalscorer.[38]
Awoniyi has a younger twin sister called Kehinde.[39] He married his partner Taiye Jesudun in an engagement and traditional wedding in Kabba on 15 June 2018, followed by a white wedding on 16 June in Ilorin.[40] Awoniyi is a Christian.[41]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Liverpool | 2015–16 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2016–17 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| FSV Frankfurt (loan) | 2015–16 | 2. Bundesliga | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | |||
| NEC (loan) | 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 18 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 3[c] | 1 | 22 | 3 | ||
| Mouscron (loan) | 2017–18 | Belgian Pro League | 27 | 7 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 2[d] | 2 | 31 | 10 | ||
| Gent (loan) | 2018–19 | Belgian Pro League | 16 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | 4[e] | 1 | — | 22 | 3 | ||
| Mouscron (loan) | 2018–19 | Belgian Pro League | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 7[d] | 4 | 16 | 11 | ||
| Mainz 05 (loan) | 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 12 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | |||
| Union Berlin (loan) | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 5 | |||
| Union Berlin | 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 31 | 15 | 4 | 1 | — | 8[f] | 4 | — | 43 | 20 | ||
| Nottingham Forest | 2022–23 | Premier League | 27 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 30 | 11 | ||
| 2023–24 | Premier League | 20 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 23 | 6 | |||
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 25 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 2 | |||
| Total | 72 | 17 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 84 | 19 | ||||
| Career total | 219 | 55 | 18 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 12 | 7 | 266 | 73 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nigeria | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| 2022 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2023 | 5 | 1 | |
| Total | 10 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 January 2022 | Roumdé Adjia Stadium, Garoua, Cameroon |  Sudan |
2–0 | 3–1 | 2021 Africa Cup of Nations |
| 2 | 10 September 2023 | Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, Nigeria |  São Tomé and Príncipe |
3–0 | 6–0 | 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification |
 | ||
