Awoniyi dejected over Lingard exit but no regret scoring against Liverpool

Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has suggested that he’s disappointed to see Jesse Lingard leave the club. The versatile forward departed the City Ground after his one-year deal expired and he’s now expected to head to the MLS or Saudi Arabia.

It never quite worked out for Lingard at Forest. Miltiadis Marinakis was the orchestrator behind the transfer and the 30-year-old arrived as a big of a big-name addition to the Reds ranks.

Lingard ultimately failed at the City Ground. He failed to register a single goal or assist in the Premier League; scoring twice in the Carabao Cup and claiming two assists.

Forest must now prepare for life without the versatile forward. Steve Cooper will hope to sign another forward or two this summer and it’s hard to imagine that the Reds will be pining for Lingard.

Awoniyi has suggested that he will miss him at Forest though. Lingard was a good character in the dressing room and perhaps it will take a certain type of player to replace him in that sense.

The striker said “To be honest, I think he is someone we are really going to miss because all just only see the weekends. We see each other every day so he is now just like a friend.

“For me, I used to call him a big player because he is a big player, because of what he has done and what he is doing. And with the vibes he brings. He used to call me  and  Emmanuel Dennis ‘My Super Eagle.”

Awoniyi also made it known that he had no mixed feelings about scoring against his former club, Liverpool FC. The bulky center-forward was the hero for Nottingham Forest as they caused an upset by defeating a much-fancied Liverpool side in October last year.

Awoniyi’s solitary strike earned the Tricky Trees a 1-0 win over the Reds in a Premier League match played at The City Ground.

“The day I signed for Union Berlin, I knew I was no longer a Liverpool player, so I considered them as an opponent when we faced them,”.

“The only thing in my head was for us to win and for me to score and I was happy I scored against them.

“But the good thing was that almost everyone sent me a congratulatory message expressing how happy they were for me and my development.”

Awoniyi was on the books of Liverpool between 2015 and 2021, but he never made an official appearance for the six-time European champions.

The 25-year-old was loaned out to six clubs including Mainz 05 and KAA Gent before being sold to Union Berlin in 2021.