Coventry Targets Taiwo Awoniyi as Key Striker Signing
Coventry’s statement summer shows no sign of slowing. Now they are closing in on a centrepiece.
According to The Athletic, Nottingham Forest are finalising the sale of striker Taiwo Awoniyi to the newly promoted Premier League side, a move that underlines just how hard the Sky Blues are swinging on their return to the top flight after 25 years away.
Awoniyi, 29, is being lined up as a leading man for Frank Lampard’s attack. Coventry have identified the Nigeria international as a key part of their frontline rebuild, a proven Premier League scorer to sit at the heart of their ambitious project.
Forest’s clutch specialist moves on
Awoniyi arrived at the City Ground in the summer of 2022, a then-club record £17.2 million signing from Union Berlin on a five-year contract. He did not take long to justify the outlay.
He became a terrace favourite almost instantly, not through volume of goals but through the timing of them. When Forest needed someone to drag them through a crisis, he often answered.
His debut Premier League season told the story. Ten goals in 27 league appearances in 2022-23, but the headline is where they came. He struck iconic winners against Liverpool and Arsenal, landmark victories that helped anchor Steve Cooper’s side in the division. Those moments turned a record signing into a survival symbol.
Even as his minutes shrank, his impact rarely did. Last season he was restricted to just 18 appearances in all competitions and only three league starts. It still wasn’t enough to push him to the margins of Forest’s story.
His standout performance came at Stamford Bridge in May. Handed a start against Chelsea, he produced a match-winning display: two goals and an assist in a 3-1 victory that stunned the home crowd and briefly shifted the relegation picture. He followed that with another crucial strike in a 3-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, a result that nudged Forest towards safety and away from the trapdoor.
Injuries, competition and a changing pecking order
The decline in his starting role was not simply a tactical choice. Awoniyi opened the 2023-24 campaign in sharp form, scoring three times in his first three matches. Forest had their battering ram back and fully tuned.
Then the injuries hit. Two lengthy setbacks broke his rhythm and stalled his season. Each return brought a fresh battle for sharpness and selection, and this time the competition was ruthless.
By the run-in, he had slipped behind Chris Wood and Igor Jesus in Nuno Espirito Santo’s attacking hierarchy. From mainstay to impact option, his role shifted as Forest evolved and the squad thickened.
Even so, he leaves with his reputation intact: a forward whose goals came when the stakes were highest, and whose finishing played a direct role in keeping Forest in the Premier League.
A new stage for a well-travelled striker
For Awoniyi, Coventry offers another turn in a winding European journey.
He spent six years on Liverpool’s books without a single senior appearance, sent on a carousel of loans across the continent as he waited for a breakthrough that never arrived at Anfield. It finally came with a permanent move to Union Berlin in 2021, where consistent minutes and trust turned him into a serious Bundesliga and then Premier League striker.
Now he stands on the verge of becoming the focal point of a club riding a wave of momentum into the top flight.
Coventry’s big swing at the Premier League
Coventry’s recruitment drive since promotion has been relentless and expensive. They have already smashed their transfer record three times this summer and are reshaping the squad with the clear intention of not just surviving, but belonging.
The pursuit of Awoniyi follows a string of heavyweight deals. The Sky Blues have just completed a record-breaking move for Nordsjaelland midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi, a fee that surpassed the £22.5m paid earlier in the window for Brighton goalkeeper Carl Rushworth.
At the back, they have moved decisively as well, spending £17m to bring in centre-back Aurele Amenda from Eintracht Frankfurt. Each signing adds another layer of credibility to a project that is accelerating fast under Lampard’s watch.
Now they are closing on a striker with a proven taste for big moments in English football.
Coventry open their Premier League campaign with a daunting trip to reigning champions Arsenal on August 21. If the Awoniyi deal is completed in time, the man who once floored the Gunners in Forest red could walk out at the Emirates in Sky Blue, leading a club that suddenly looks determined to stay a while.
