Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Liverpool, Transfers, Nottingham Forest
Chris Stonadge
Nottingham Forest have activated the release clause of former Liverpool forward Taiwo Awoniyi, and the prolific striker set to land the reds a solid windfall.
After joining Liverpool in 2015 for only £400,000, persistent work permit issues soon made it clear that the Nigerian wouldn't ever be able to make the impact in Merseyside he would have hoped for.
After an impressive season on loan for Union Berlin in the 2019/2020 season, the German side forked out £6.5m in order to retain his services on a permanent basis.
This proved to be a tidy decision, as Awoniyi netted 20 goals in 43 games across all competitions last season.
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Premier league new boys Nottingham Forest were hunting for a deadly striker to lead their line, and reliable journalist Fabrizio Romano reports that Taiwo Awoniyi is the man they’ve decided on.
The Italian reports that negotiations are at their final stages for a 20 million euro fee, and the final details of the deal are to be agreed soon.
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The £17m Forest will pay will set the new benchmark for most expensive transfer in the club’s history.
The current mark stands at the £13.2m they paid Benfica for Joao Carvalho.
There will undoubtedly be celebrations of this transfer from fans of Forest, but it will certainly be all smiles at Anfield too, after Romano confirmed the presence of a release clause in the deal.
Liverpool negotiated a 10 percent clause into Awoniyi’s move to Union Berlin.
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As such, they’re in line to receive a further £1.7m.
In total, that will bring the Reds’ net profit for a striker who never played for the club to £7.8m.
Whilst work permit issues prohibited the 24 year-old, the same issue is unlikely to occur this time around.
News outlet ‘Goal’ previously reported Awoniyi’s status as a full Nigeria international will make securing the necessary paperwork simpler.
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He has made four appearances for the Super Eagles since making his debut in 2021.