Awoniyi dismisses insinuations that his future is not in Nottingham Forest
Super Eagles forward Taiwo Awoniyi has quashed insinuation that his future is in Nottingham Forest.
The Nigeria international has recovered from injury just as Nottingham Forest's season is coming to an end - one that should see them stay in the Premier League
Having just returned to fitness and with Nottingham Forest not quite confirmed as a definite Premier League club next season, Awoniyi is already fielding questions about his City Ground future.
Awoniyi, the talisman who inspired last season’s surge towards safety, has been a bit-part player this term with injury restricting him to only five minutes of football in the last two months. Thankfully Forest has negotiated another storm-tossed season and barring a highly implausible set of results on the final day of the season will retain their top-flight status.
After that attention will turn to the makeup of Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad and the started desire to trim numbers, with Forest’s transfer trolley dash having left them bloated. Whether Awoniyi is even among the names up for departure remains to be seen.
That didn’t stop him being asked about his status in the aftermath of Saturday’s defeat to Chelsea, with footage of the interview being posted online. The 26-year-old was asked if he will still be a Forest player next season.
He replied: “That’s a tough one, for me I am still under contract at Nottingham Forest, for sure I am here. For now, I am a player of Nottingham Forest.”
The striker was more confident about the Reds’ chances of avoiding an unlikely comeback from Luton Town in the final game of the campaign: “I think for us, we’ll be there. We’ll be in the Premier League next season, but the most important thing is to win the next game.”
For Awoniyi that comes away to Burnley where the Reds need a point to be sure but even a defeat would require a 12-goal swing in goal difference for the unthinkable to happen.
Awoniyi still has three years left on the deal he signed when he moved to Forest from Union Berlin in June 2022. He has played 52 times and scored 17 goals.