Nigeria forward Taiwo Awoniyi has expressed his excitement at joining Coventry City permanently from Nottingham Forest, praising the club’s players after completing his transfer.
Quick facts
- Awoniyi has moved from Nottingham Forest to Coventry City for a reported guaranteed £17 million.
- The 29-year-old is Coventry’s sixth summer addition.
- Coventry begin their Premier League campaign at Arsenal on Friday.
- Awoniyi scored 23 times in 103 appearances for Forest.
Awoniyi said he was eager to link up with his new colleagues and begin preparations for the season. He highlighted their achievements in winning promotion from the Championship, calling their performances “incredible” and saying he had been impressed by what he saw last term.
The deal is understood to include no additional payments beyond the £17 million fee. It represents Coventry’s sixth recruitment of the summer, with manager Frank Lampard building a squad for the club’s first top-flight season in a quarter of a century.
Coventry’s return to the Premier League starts with a difficult away fixture against Arsenal on Friday.
Forest signed Awoniyi from Union Berlin in 2022 for a club-record fee at the time of £17.2 million. During his spell at the City Ground, he registered 23 goals in 103 matches in all competitions, including six strikes across the final four games of the 2022-23 campaign that helped Forest avoid relegation.
His last season in Nottingham was heavily affected by injury. After crashing into a goalpost during Forest’s meeting with Leicester City, Awoniyi required abdominal surgery in May 2025 and was placed in an induced coma as part of the treatment.
He returned in July 2025 but made only three Premier League starts last season. Across 17 appearances in all competitions, he scored four goals.
Awoniyi will reunite at Coventry with fellow Nigeria international Frank Onyeka, who is also his Super Eagles teammate. With Onyeka in the squad, Coventry won the Championship title last season and secured their return to England’s highest division.
The Nigerian pair are expected to play important roles as Coventry begin their Premier League campaign this weekend.
