Coventry City Nears Awoniyi Deal: Ambitious Premier League Return

Coventry City are about to put a bold exclamation mark on their return to the Premier League. According to The Athletic, the newly-promoted club are finalising a deal to sign Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi – a move that screams ambition from a side back in the top flight for the first time in 25 years.

Frank Lampard has identified the 29-year-old as a cornerstone of his attack. Coventry see the Nigeria international not as a luxury signing, but as a centre-forward to build around in a season where survival and momentum will define everything.

Forest’s clutch specialist moves on

Awoniyi arrived at the City Ground in the summer of 2022, a then-club record £17.2m signing from Union Berlin on a five-year contract. He did not take long to justify the outlay.

He became a cult figure almost instantly. A powerful runner, awkward to defend against, and with a knack for showing up when the lights were brightest, he carved out a reputation as Forest’s big-game finisher.

His debut Premier League campaign told the story. Ten goals in 27 league appearances in 2022-23, but it was who they came against – and when – that cemented his status. Awoniyi struck iconic winners against Liverpool and Arsenal, goals that dragged Steve Cooper’s side away from the trapdoor and helped keep Forest in the division.

Those moments defined his time at the club. When Forest needed a lifeline, Awoniyi often provided it.

Impact in flashes amid injury frustration

The narrative shifted last season. The striker’s influence didn’t disappear, but it came in bursts rather than over a full campaign.

In total, Awoniyi featured just 18 times in all competitions, starting only three Premier League matches. Yet when the door opened, he still walked through it. His standout performance came at Stamford Bridge in May, when he tore into Chelsea with two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win that underlined his capacity to dominate on the biggest stages. He followed that with another crucial strike in a 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur, a result that eased Forest clear of the relegation scrap.

The problem was never talent. It was availability and opportunity. Awoniyi began the 2023-24 season flying, scoring three goals in his first three league games, only for two significant injury layoffs to derail his rhythm. By the time he returned, the landscape had changed. Nuno Espirito Santo’s pecking order pushed him behind Chris Wood and Igor Jesus, and the Nigerian found himself fighting for minutes rather than leading the line.

Even so, he remained the kind of substitute no defender wanted to see warming up.

A new chapter for a well-travelled striker

For Awoniyi, Coventry offers a fresh stage in a career that has rarely stood still.

He spent six years on Liverpool’s books without a single senior appearance, farmed out on a series of loans across Europe before finally finding a permanent home at Union Berlin in 2021. There, he proved he could be a reliable scorer at top-flight level, earning his move to Forest and, now, this impending switch to the Sky Blues.

Coventry are not buying potential. They are buying a forward who has already shown he can hurt elite Premier League defences.

Coventry’s spending spree gathers pace

The deal for Awoniyi is the latest punch thrown in a remarkable summer at the Coventry Building Society Arena. The club have smashed their transfer record three times in one window, a clear sign they intend to be more than passengers on their Premier League return.

Their recruitment drive has been aggressive and targeted. Nordsjaelland midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi arrived in a record-breaking move, the fee surpassing the £22.5m paid earlier in the window for Brighton goalkeeper Carl Rushworth. At the back, Coventry spent £17m to prise centre-back Aurele Amenda from Eintracht Frankfurt, adding presence and composure to Lampard’s defensive unit.

Awoniyi, if and when the deal is completed, would sit neatly alongside those signings: proven pedigree, prime age, and a profile tailored to the intensity of the league they are about to re-enter.

All of this builds towards a daunting opening night. Coventry’s first Premier League fixture in a quarter of a century is away to reigning champions Arsenal on 21 August.

By then, the question will not be whether they belong at this level. It will be how far this newly-minted, big-spending Coventry City can push it.