From construction worker to Forest savior in the English Premier League

Taiwo Awonyi is a Nigerian footballer who rose to prominence due to his skill as a striker. He began his professional football career by signing with the Imperial Academy in Nigeria. He then moved to Liverpool Football Club in 2015 but struggled to obtain a UK work visa which saw him spend several seasons on loan with various European clubs including FSV Frankfurt, NEC Nijmegen and Royal Excel Mouscron, among others. . He is now at Nottingham Forest.

The boy was born in Nigeria, and earned a few dollars working in construction and delivering water to his neighbors. Due to lack of resources, he had to wear much larger shoes, and eventually wore up to ten pairs of socks to fit his feet.

Goal for the childhood team

“Arsenal was always my team and you couldn’t criticize them in my presence when I was growing up. A lot of my friends called me that day and said: ‘Tayo, you finally scored a goal against your team.'”Awoniyi shared with BBC Sport Africa.

His parents wanted him to become a doctor

Although his parents wanted Aouni to become a doctor, his passion for football prevailed. After some family disputes over his selection, the youngster played for local clubs and in Nigerian youth teams, winning the U-17 world title in 2013. During the tournament held in the United Arab Emirates, he scored four goals.

_{Taiwo Awonyi in the English Premier League (Transcripts/BBC Sports/Esporte África)}

In 2015, he moved to Kalmar in Sweden, before being acquired by Liverpool the following year. However, due to work permit issues, the striker did not get the opportunity to play for the Reds’ first team.

“Thinking about the series of loans I went through, I realize that these years have shaped my personality, and everything I have worked tirelessly over the past six years seems to have been erased. This has not been an easy journey,” The player counts.

Consequently, over the course of his five-year contract with the club, he was loaned out to a number of teams, including FSV Frankfurt, NEC Nijmegen, Mouscron, Gent and Mainz 05, before finally joining Union Berlin in 2020, where he moved up. to fame.

Featured image: Taiwo Awonyi celebrates scoring Forest’s goal. Reproduction / James Williamson / ESPN