Liverpool set for transfer windfall as Taiwo Awoniyi closes in on Premier League return
The Nigerian international forward is set to return to the Premier League after a prolific season at Union Berlin, meaning that Liverpool are set to cash-in on a clause.
Liverpool are poised to net just shy of £2million with their former forward Taiwo Awoniyi on the verge of joining Nottingham Forest.
Awoniyi never made a single senior appearance for Liverpool despite joining the club in 2015 as he was unable to gain a UK work permit. However, now that he has featured on the international scene with Nigeria, that is no longer an issue and he is set to return to the Premier League.
The 24-year-old scored 20 goals and provided five assists for Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin this campaign and The Telegraph reports Forest are preparing to make the forward their club record signing for £17.5million.
The Nigeria international left the Reds at the end of last season having made his loan move to Union Berlin permanent for approximately £6.5million. Liverpool negotiated a 10 per cent sell-on clause with Berlin last summer and are set to reap the benefits of that agreement with his impending return to English football.
Having spent £400,000 to sign Awoniyi initially, Liverpool have already made a significant profit regarding the forward and the sell-on bonus will act as a further boost for the Reds in the summer transfer window, having already shelled out on the signings of Darwin Nunez, Fabio Carvalho and Calvin Ramsey.
Awoniyi joined Liverpool from Imperial Soccer Academy in the summer of 2015 but never made a first-team appearance, with his six-year spell at Anfield characterised by seven loan spells away at the club. The Nigerian played at FSV Frankfurt, NEC, Mouscron (twice), Gent, Mainz and Union Berlin on loan before joining the latter on a permanent basis a year ago.
The forward was part of the Nigeria side that won the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in 2013 and subsequently helped his nation scoop the African Under-20 Championship two years later. It is said that Reds boss Jurgen Klopp remains a huge admirer of Awoniyi and believes he can be a big hit in English football.
Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest are set to face both Hertha Berlin and Union Berlin in pre-season matches in July, before the Premier League campaign starts on August 6 with a trip to Newcastle. The Midlands club have returned to the English top-flight after a 23-year absence following their promotion through the play-offs last month.
