Coventry City Nears Signing of Taiwo Awoniyi from Nottingham Forest
Coventry City are closing in on the signing of Taiwo Awoniyi from Nottingham Forest, a move that sends a loud message about the scale of their ambition on the eve of their Premier League return.
The newly-promoted club, back in the top flight for the first time in 25 years, have identified the 29-year-old Nigeria international as a frontline signing, not a squad piece. According to The Athletic, the deal is being finalised as the Sky Blues continue an aggressive summer rebuild designed to give Frank Lampard the firepower to survive – and compete – at the highest level.
Forest’s clutch specialist moves on
Awoniyi arrived at the City Ground in the summer of 2022, a then-club record £17.2m buy from Union Berlin on a five-year contract. He didn’t take long to justify the fee.
He became a cult figure almost instantly, the striker Forest turned to when the lights were brightest. His debut Premier League season was defined by big goals in big games: a nervy winner against Liverpool, another decisive strike against Arsenal. Ten goals in 27 league appearances in 2022-23 doesn’t leap off the page, but the timing of those goals kept Steve Cooper’s side alive when relegation anxiety was at its peak.
That was his legacy at Forest: not volume, but value. When the club teetered, Awoniyi steadied them.
The story shifted last season. Injuries bit hard, competition sharpened, and his starting role began to fray. He opened the 2023-24 campaign in sharp form, three goals in his first three matches hinting at a sustained breakout. Then came two extended spells on the sidelines that shattered his rhythm and opened the door for others.
By the time he was fully fit, Chris Wood and Igor Jesus had climbed ahead of him in Nuno Espirito Santo’s pecking order. Starts dried up. Cameos replaced them.
Yet whenever he did get on the pitch, the impact remained. Across just 18 appearances in all competitions, and only three Premier League starts, he still found ways to influence games. His standout performance came at Stamford Bridge last May: two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win over Chelsea, a complete centre-forward display that showcased the full range of his game. He followed that with another crucial strike in a 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, a result that helped shove Forest away from the relegation trapdoor.
For Forest, his exit closes a short but significant chapter. For Awoniyi, it’s another turn in a winding European journey.
A well-travelled striker, a fresh stage
Awoniyi’s career has rarely followed a straight line. He spent six years on Liverpool’s books without playing a senior minute, shipped out on a carousel of loans across Europe before finally finding a home at Union Berlin in 2021. The move to Forest pushed him into the Premier League spotlight. Coventry now offers a different kind of challenge: not just survival, but leadership in a dressing room learning the division on the fly.
At 29, he arrives with scars, experience and a track record of delivering when the stakes rise. Coventry want exactly that profile as they step back into a league that has changed beyond recognition since their last appearance.
Coventry’s statement summer
This transfer window has already redrawn the limits of Coventry City’s ambition. The Sky Blues have smashed their transfer record three times in a single summer, a remarkable shift for a club long defined by financial caution and lower-league pragmatism.
The pursuit of Awoniyi comes after a series of headline signings aimed squarely at giving Lampard a competitive spine. Nordsjaelland midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi arrived in a record-breaking deal, the fee surpassing the £22.5m laid out earlier in the window for Brighton goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. The backline has been reinforced too, with £17m spent on centre-back Aurele Amenda from Eintracht Frankfurt.
These are not tentative steps. They are Premier League moves, both in scale and intent.
Awoniyi would add something different again: a proven top-flight finisher who thrives in chaos, attacks space, and relishes the physical fight with centre-backs. For a promoted side likely to spend long spells without the ball, his ability to turn half-chances into points could define their season.
Coventry’s first assignment could hardly be tougher – a trip to reigning champions Arsenal on August 21. If the Awoniyi deal is completed in time, the Nigerian’s Premier League return may begin at the Emirates, leading the line for a club determined not to be tourists in the division they’ve spent a quarter of a century chasing.
