Nigerian footballer Taiwo Micheal Awoniyi, who was born on August 12, 1997, is a gifted attacker who competes for the Super Eagles and Premier League Club Nottingham Forest.
Early Life
Taiwo Awoniyi was born on the 12th of August, 1997, in Ilorin, Kwara State, which falls in the North-Central geopolitical zone of Nigeria.
Career
Professional Career
Awoniyi received the Most Valuable Player honor at a 2010 Coca-Cola football competition held in London. His performance during the game caught Seyi Olofinjana’s attention, and he invited him to join the Imperial Soccer Academy.
On August 31, 2015, Awoniyi received a transfer fee of almost £400,000 to join English club Liverpool; however, he was immediately loaned to FSV Frankfurt in Germany.
Awoniyi made his Frankfurt debut in a German Cup matchup against Hertha Berlin as a late replacement. Before making his league debut on February 19, 2016, against FC St. Pauli, he appeared as a substitute in six games. He played 89 minutes. Awoniyi joined Liverpool at the conclusion of the season after being demoted while playing for Frankfurt.
On August 26, 2016, the Dutch team NEC revealed that Awoniyi has signed a season-long loan arrangement with them. After the legalities for his work visa were completed, he was supposed to start working with the group the following week. On September 10, he replaced Michael Heinloth in the 72nd minute of NEC’s 4-0 loss against PSV Eindhoven to make his Eredivisie debut. With NEC, Taiwo was demoted from the Eredivisie for the second time in a row in 2017.
Awoniyi signed a season-long loan agreement with Royal Excel Mouscron in Belgium after leaving NEC in July 2017. On August 12, he started the game in his debut against KSC Lokeren and scored inside 22 minutes.
On July 17, Awoniyi extended his long-term deal with Liverpool, and on July 23, he accepted Gent’s offer of a season-long loan. In April, he said that his inability to secure a work visa for the UK would mean the end of his career with Liverpool.
On July 20, 2021, Awoniyi returned to Union Berlin permanently. The German squad reportedly paid £6.5 million for the attacker, according to reports. Liverpool secured a 10% sell-on provision into this contract.
On June 25, 2022, Awoniyi agreed to sign a five-year contract with Nottingham Forest, a team that had just been promoted to the Premier League. A club record transfer fee of £17 million was paid by Notterm Forest to acquire him.
He scored his first Premier League goal in a 1-0 victory over West Ham United on August 14, 2022.
International Career
Awoniyi represented Nigeria at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, scoring four goals in the process to help his nation win the tournament. He represented Nigeria at the FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand after winning the 2015 African U-20 Championship in Senegal.
On April 12, 2015, he made his Nigeria U-23 team debut against Zambia, scoring twice to assist his team advance to the 2015 All-African Games.
Gernot Rohr selected Taiwo Awoniyi to represent Nigeria in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, and he made his competitive debut in Nigeria’s 1-0 loss to the Central African Republic. Awoniyi was selected to represent Nigeria at AFCON 2021, where he oversaw the attacking line for the group’s squad the entire tournament. In the 3-1 group stage triumph over Sudan, he scored just one goal.
Personal Life
On June 15, 2018, in Kabba, Taiwo Awoniyi wed his lover Taiwo Jesudun in a traditional wedding and engagement ceremony. On June 16, in Ilorin, they had a white wedding.
Honors
Nigeria U20
- 2015: African U-20 Championship
Nigeria U17
- 2013: FIFA U-17 World Cup
Net Worth
According to the analysis made from different sources online, Taiwo Awoniyi has an estimated net worth of $2.5 million.
