Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has struggled to find first-team play in 2024/25, with Chris Wood in top form.
Wood praised Awoniyi after the Nigerian scored his first goal for Forest this season in a 3-0 victory over Wolves last Monday.
He started for Forest against Luton in the FA Cup yesterday. Things didn’t go his way against the Hatters, and he squandered several opportunities.
Lewis McGugan had his thoughts on Awoniyi early in the season. It’s been a rough campaign for him, and inevitably, speculation over his future at City Ground has begun.
Journalist provides an update on West Ham’s interest in Forest star Taiwo Awoniyi.
The Hammers hired a new manager this week. Graham Potter previously spoke with Forest, but he is now in charge of resurrecting West Ham’s fortunes.
It would appear that a new centre-forward forms part of his transfer wishlist, with the Hammers badly missing players in the last third of the pitch at the present.
Forest striker Awoniyi is one man he may be keeping an eye on. TalkSPORT broadcaster Alex Crook believes the Eastenders have a minor interest in signing the Nigerian this month.
“I’ve been told that West Ham are searching for reinforcements in a few crucial positions. One is a new center-forward; clearly, they’ve lost Michail Antonio, Jarrod Bowen will be absent until February, and Niclas Fullkrug is also hurt.
He made the remarks on the TalkSPORT podcast: “A new number nine, maybe someone like Evan Ferguson at Brighton is a priority and I’m told there is also a little bit of interest in Taiwo Awoniyi at Forest who obviously was their main man but it struggling a little bit now with Chris Wood proving difficult to dislodge.”
Forest should keep Awoniyi until summer.
If Forest cashes in on Awoniyi, it will be very short. Wood and the 27-year-old have shared the goal-scoring duties this season, and both are capable performers.
Offloading him to a team in the same division doesn’t make much sense. Although Forest had loftier objectives than West Ham this season, it would feel like an odd transfer.
Awoniyi is yet to reach his full potential this season. A combination of injuries and a lack of game time have slowed his improvement, and he appears rusty whenever he appears on the field.
He has not become a horrible player, and he still has a role to play this season. Forest now have a settled squad, and losing Awoniyi would be disastrous.
