Coventry City Targets Taiwo Awoniyi in Ambitious Transfer Move

Coventry City are on the verge of landing Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi in a deal that screams ambition from the newly-promoted club, according to The Athletic.

Twenty-five years after their last taste of Premier League football, the Sky Blues are not creeping back into the top flight. They are kicking the door down. Awoniyi, 29, has been identified as a frontline signing, a centrepiece for an attack being rebuilt to survive – and more – 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 did not take long to justify the fee.

He became a cult hero almost instantly. Powerful, direct, relentless in the box, he built a reputation as the man for the big moment, the striker who came alive when the opposition crest was one of the Premier League’s giants.

His first season told the story. Ten goals in 27 league appearances in 2022-23, but the numbers only scratch the surface. He scored iconic winners against Liverpool and Arsenal, strikes that helped drag Steve Cooper’s side away from the trapdoor and kept Forest anchored in the division. When the pressure rose, Awoniyi often rose higher.

That knack never really deserted him, even as his role shrank. Last season he was used sparingly – just 18 appearances in all competitions, only three Premier League starts – yet he still produced when it mattered. His standout performance came at Stamford Bridge in May: two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win over Chelsea, a one-man demolition job on a ground where Forest were supposed to suffer. He then found the net again in a vital 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, another result that eased Forest away from relegation danger.

Injuries, competition and a changing hierarchy

So why is he leaving? The slide down the pecking order has been gradual but clear.

Awoniyi opened the 2023-24 campaign in exactly the way Forest fans expected: three goals in his first three matches, looking every inch the main man again. Then the injuries hit. Two significant setbacks halted his momentum, stalled his rhythm and left him scrambling to catch up.

By the time he was fit enough to push for a run of games, the picture had changed. Nuno Espirito Santo leaned more heavily on Chris Wood’s experience and the emerging presence of Igor Jesus. Awoniyi, once the focal point, found himself looking on from the bench, his path back to a regular starting role increasingly blocked.

Even so, he leaves with his reputation intact: a striker who delivered when Forest needed him most, whose goals helped secure their Premier League status and whose departure will be felt emotionally as much as tactically at the City Ground.

A new chapter for a well-travelled forward

For Awoniyi, Coventry represents another twist in a winding European journey.

He spent six years on Liverpool’s books without a single senior appearance, shuttled around on loan, waiting for a permanent home. That came at Union Berlin in 2021, where he finally established himself as a top-level goalscorer and earned his move to Forest.

Now, with a switch to the Midlands on the horizon, he steps into a different kind of challenge: leading the line for a promoted side trying to plant itself firmly in the Premier League landscape rather than just visit it.

Coventry spend big and think big

Coventry’s pursuit of Awoniyi is not an isolated splash. It is part of a pattern.

The club have smashed their transfer record three times this summer alone as they gear up for their return to the top flight. Frank Lampard has been backed aggressively, and the squad is being reshaped with purpose, not panic.

The Sky Blues have already pulled off a record-breaking deal for Nordsjaelland midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi, a fee that eclipsed the £22.5m laid out earlier in the window for Brighton goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. The spine is being rebuilt with serious money and clear intent.

At the back, they have moved decisively too, paying £17m to bring in centre-back Aurele Amenda from Eintracht Frankfurt. It is a signing that underlines the same theme: Coventry are not here to make up the numbers.

Now they are closing in on Awoniyi, a forward with Premier League scars and Premier League goals on his record.

The timing is no accident. Coventry open their campaign with a daunting trip to reigning champions Arsenal on August 21. By then, Lampard will hope to have his new No 9 in place, ready to walk into the Emirates Stadium and announce that Coventry City’s long-awaited return is not just a celebration of the past – it is a statement about where they intend to go next.