Taiwo Awoniyi

Taiwo Micheal Awoniyi (born 12 August 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bundesliga club Union Berlin and the Nigeria national team.

Taiwo Awoniyi
Awoniyi training with Mouscron in 2018
Personal information
Full name Taiwo Micheal Awoniyi[1]
Date of birth (1997-08-12) 12 August 1997
Place of birth Ilorin, Nigeria
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Union Berlin
Number 14
Youth career
2010–2015 Imperial Soccer Academy
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2021 Liverpool 0 (0)
2015–2016 → FSV Frankfurt (loan) 13 (1)
2016–2017 → NEC (loan) 18 (2)
2017–2018 → Mouscron (loan) 27 (7)
2018–2019 → Gent (loan) 16 (0)
2019 → Mouscron (loan) 9 (7)
2019–2020 → Mainz 05 (loan) 12 (1)
2020–2021 → Union Berlin (loan) 21 (5)
2021– Union Berlin 29 (13)
National team‡
2013 Nigeria U17 8 (4)
2015 Nigeria U20 9 (7)
2015 Nigeria U23 3 (2)
2021– Nigeria 4 (1)
Honours
Representing  Nigeria
FIFA U-17 World Cup
2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup
African U-20 Championship
2015 African U-20 Championship
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:36, 29 April 2022 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 23:00, 23 January 2022 (UTC)

Club career

Early career

In 2010, Awoniyi was voted the Most Valuable Player at a Coca-Cola football competition in London. His performance at the competition was spotted by Seyi Olofinjana who invited him to join the Imperial Soccer Academy.[3]

Liverpool

On 31 August 2015, Awoniyi signed for English club Liverpool for a fee of around £400,000 but was immediately loaned out to German team FSV Frankfurt.[4][5]

Loans to FSV Frankfurt and NEC

Awoniyi made his debut for Frankfurt as a late substitute in a German Cup match against Hertha Berlin. After being named as a substitute for six league matches, he made his debut on 19 February 2016, playing 89 minutes against FC St. Pauli.[6] Awoniyi suffered relegation with Frankfurt, and he returned to Liverpool at the end of the season.

On 26 August 2016, Dutch team NEC confirmed that Awoniyi had joined them on a season-long loan and was expected to join the squad the following week after the formalities of his work permit were completed.[7] On 10 September, he made his Eredivisie debut in a 4–0 defeat of NEC to PSV Eindhoven, being replaced in the 72nd minute by Michael Heinloth.[8]With NEC, the Nigerian suffered his second consecutive relegation, being relegated from Eredivisie in 2017.[9]

Loans to Mouscron and Gent

In July 2017, Awoniyi left NEC and joined Belgian club Royal Excel Mouscron on a season-long loan, and made his debut on 12 August when he started the match against KSC Lokeren, scoring within 23 minutes.[10]

On 17 July 2018, Awoniyi signed a new long-term deal with Liverpool,[11] and on 23 July sealed a season-long loan to another Belgian club, Gent.[12] On 11 January 2019, it was announced that his loan to Gent was cut short, and Awoniyi was loaned to Mouscron again.[13] In April he said that his struggle to get a UK work permit could end his Liverpool career.[14]

Loans to Mainz 05 and Union Berlin

On 6 August 2019, Liverpool confirmed Awoniyi had joined Bundesliga side Mainz 05 on a season-long loan.[15] He was hospitalized in June 2020, after sustaining a severe concussion during a 1–0 loss to FC Augsburg in the league.[16]

On 19 September 2020, Awoniyi left for his seventh loan spell, this time joining Bundesliga side Union Berlin for a year.[17]

Union Berlin

On 20 July 2021, Awoniyi rejoined Union Berlin, this time on a permanent basis.[18] The German club reportedly paid £6.5 million for the forward.[19] Liverpool have also negotiated a 10% sell-on clause in this deal.[20]

International career

Awoniyi represented Nigeria at the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup and went on to win the tournament, scoring four goals during the competition.[21] He also represented Nigeria at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand after winning the 2015 African U-20 Championship in Senegal.[22]

On 12 April 2015, he scored a brace on his debut for the Nigeria U-23 team in a match against Zambia, as his team went on to qualify for the 2015 All African Games.[23]

He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[24]

He was selected by Gernot Rohr in late 2021 to represent Nigeria at the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, making his debut in their 1–0 loss to the Central African Republic.[25] Awoniyi was selected to represent Nigeria at the AFCON 2021 where he led the line for Nigeria throughout the tournament.[26] He only goal during the tournament came in the 3-1 group stage win against Sudan.[27]

Style of play

Awoniyi's style of play has been compared to that of Rashidi Yekini, Nigeria's all-time highest goalscorer.[28]

Personal life

He married his partner Taiwo Jesudun in an engagement and traditional wedding in Kabba on 15 June 2018, followed by a white wedding on 16 June in Ilorin.[29]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 29 April 2022[30]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Liverpool 2015–16 Premier League 000000—00
FSV Frankfurt (loan) 2015–16 2. Bundesliga 13110——141
NEC (loan) 2016–17 Eredivisie 18210—3[lower-alpha 1]1223
Mouscron (loan) 2017–18 Belgian First Division A 27721—2[lower-alpha 2]23110
Gent (loan) 2018–19 Belgian First Division A 160224[lower-alpha 3]1—223
Mouscron (loan) 2018–19 Belgian First Division A 9700—7[lower-alpha 2]41611
Mainz 05 (loan) 2019–20 Bundesliga 12100——121
Union Berlin (loan) 2020–21 Bundesliga 21510——225
Union Berlin 2021–22 Bundesliga 2913418[lower-alpha 4]4—4118
Career total 1453611412512718052
  1. Appearances in Eredivisie relegation play-offs
  2. Appearances in First Division A Europa League play-offs
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

Honours

Nigeria U17

Nigeria U20

References
  1. "List of players under written contract registered between 01/08/2017 and 31/08/2017" (PDF). The Football Association. p. 1. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  2. "Taiwo Awoniyi (Angreifer) - Saison 2021/22". 1. FC Union Berlin (in German). Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  3. "I beat Taiwo Awoniyi to discourage him from football – Dad". Vanguard. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  4. Press Association (31 August 2015). "Liverpool sign 18-year-old Nigeria forward Taiwo Awoniyi". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  5. Okeleji, Oluwashina (2 September 2015). "Taiwo Awoniyi: Youngster tipped to do well at Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  6. "Liverpool's Awoniyi makes League Debut In Germany". Soccernet. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2016.
  7. "NEC hires striker Taiwo Awoniyi". NEC. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  8. Johnny Edward (10 September 2016). "Nwakaeme Hits Hat-trick, Enyeama Concedes Four, Awoniyi Makes NEC Debut". Nigerian Nation. Retrieved 11 September 2016.
  9. "NEC degradeert na forse nederlaag tegen NAC". nos.nl. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
  10. "Liverpool loanee celebrates birthday with debut goal". thisisanfield.com. 13 August 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  11. Carroll, James (17 July 2018). "Taiwo Awoniyi signs new Liverpool deal". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  12. Carroll, James (23 July 2018). "Taiwo Awoniyi seals loan switch to KAA Gent". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  13. "Taiwo Awoniyi joins Mouscron on loan". Liverpool FC.
  14. Okeleji, Oluwashina (1 April 2019). "Taiwo Awoniyi: Nigerian admits work permit could derail Liverpool dream". BBC Sport. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  15. "Taiwo Awoniyi joins Mainz on season-long loan deal". Liverpool FC.
  16. "Mainz's Liverpool loanee Awoniyi hospitalised with severe concussion". Yahoo Sports. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 10 September 2020.
  17. "Taiwo Awoniyi arrives in Köpenick". Union Berlin. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  18. "Taiwo Awoniyi joins Union Berlin in permanent move". Liverpool FC. 20 July 2021. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  19. Jones, Neil (20 July 2021). "Liverpool striker Awoniyi completes £6.5m Union Berlin transfer | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  20. Pearce, James. "Liverpool agree deals to sell Marko Grujic and Taiwo Awoniyi". The Athletic. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  21. "Taiwo Awoniyi: The New Bride of European Clubs". Thisday. 27 June 2015. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  22. "Nigeria set sights on daring double". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 8 May 2015. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  23. Akpayen, George (12 April 2015). "Awoniyi brace catapults Nigeria U23". SuperSports. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  24. Okeleji, Oluwashina (24 June 2016). "Kelechi Iheanacho included in Nigeria's Olympics squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
  25. "Taiwo Awoniyi makes Super Eagles debut in Nigeria's 1-0 loss to CAR". Pulse Nigeria. 8 October 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  26. "Afcon 2021: Iheanacho and Awoniyi lead Nigeria attack against Egypt | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  27. Flood, George (15 January 2022). "Nigeria 3-1 Sudan: Super Eagles cruise into AFCON last-16". Evening Standard. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  28. Solace Chukwu (14 March 2015). "TAIWO AWONIYI: THE YOUNGSTER LOOKING TO FILL RASHIDI YEKINI'S BIG VOID". Goal.com. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  29. "Ex-Golden Eaglet Taiwo Awoniyi, 20, Gets Married". Complete Sport Nigeria. 17 June 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2018.
  30. Taiwo Awoniyi at Soccerway. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
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