Nigerian forward, Taiwo Awoniyi might see his playing time cut further following Nottingham Forest’s signing of Arnaud Kalimuendo.
The Premier League side completed the signing of Kalimuendo for £25 million from Rennes.
Kalimuendo was acquired after a remarkable 2024/2025 season in which he scored 18 goals and provided four assists across 34 matches in all competitions for Rennes.
Awoniyi had a very difficult end to last season, suffering a serious abdominal injury – a ruptured intestine, which required surgery.
He was even placed in an induced coma during recovery. The Nigerian played 26 games last season in the Premier League, starting only three and scoring just once.
Featuring mostly as second choice to Chris Wood, the Nigerian could not match his teammate’s tally of 20 goals and three assists, in 38 league games.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s chances of starting regularly — or even coming off the bench — are very slim, as he now has both Wood and Kalimuendo to compete with.
Additionally, he is not a versatile forward and can only play as a centre-forward, which limits his options further.
He was linked with a move away from Nottingham Forest last season, with West Ham reportedly keen on his services, but nothing materialized.
This summer, there have been no updates regarding his future. He seems to be in high spirits, having participated well in the team’s pre-season.
The forward was named on the bench in Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 win over Brentford in the Premier League but didn’t feature.
Meanwhile, the forward will be hoping to get a Super Eagles recall for the World Cup qualifiers in September and the Africa Cup of Nations in December.
The last time Awoniyi played for Nigeria was in an AFCON qualifier in October 2024, where he came on in the 76th minute against Libya.
He has yet to feature for the Super Eagles under the current manager, Eric Chelle.
