Coventry City, the newly promoted side making their return to the top flight of English football after 25 years away, has confirmed an agreement of approximately £17 million to capture Taiwo Awoniyi from Nottingham Forest, multiple sources close to the transfer have confirmed. The deal is on track to be finalized in time for the club’s opening Premier League fixture of the 2026-27 season against Arsenal, scheduled to kick off at 20:00 BST this coming Friday.
Ahead of the move, Awoniyi received a heartfelt sendoff from his former Forest teammates and coaching staff ahead of the second half of the club’s final pre-season friendly against French side Brest at the City Ground on Sunday, where the striker was honored with a full guard of honor to bid farewell to the fanbase that supported him during his three-year tenure at the club.
Following Forest’s 2-0 win over the Ligue 1 opponent, Forest manager Oliver Glasner opened up about Awoniyi’s character and contribution to the club, praising the striker as one of the most likable players he has ever worked with. “He was probably one of the loveliest guys I’ve met, always friendly, always smiling. Everybody in the club likes him and I could see everybody in the stand likes him because this is what everybody appreciates. He always gives 100% for the team, he always gives 100% for the bench, and that’s why he deserves such a farewell, such a guard of honour. That’s why we decided we would give it to him and I wish him all the best at his next club, just not when they play us.”
Awoniyi first joined the Liverpool academy back in 2015, but never earned a senior cap for the Merseyside club before moving around a series of loan spells and eventually secured a permanent move to German side Union Berlin. In 2022, he became Nottingham Forest’s then-record signing when the newly promoted Premier League side bought him for £17.2 million, as they built their squad to compete in the top flight.
Over his time at Forest, the 29-year-old Nigeria international notched 23 goals across 103 appearances for the club. However, he dropped down the pecking order behind first-choice strikers Chris Wood and Igor Jesus in recent seasons, and was left out of the club’s Europa League squad for the 2025-26 campaign. Last season, he only started three matches, scoring four goals in 17 total appearances across all competitions. His time at Forest also included a major health scare in May 2025, when a collision with a goalpost during a match against Leicester caused an intestinal rupture that required doctors to place him in an induced coma for treatment.
For Coventry, the addition of Awoniyi addresses a pressing shortage of fit strikers heading into their opening weekend fixture. First-team striker Haji Wright is currently sidelined with injury, leaving manager Frank Lampard with only Brandon Thomas-Asante and Ellis Simms as available attacking options ahead of the Arsenal clash. Awoniyi’s arrival is the latest in a series of high-profile summer signings for the promoted side, who have already brought in midfielder Gus Hamer from Sheffield United, goalkeeper Carl Rushworth following a successful loan spell from Brighton, winger Loum Tchaouna from Burnley, defender Aurele Amenda from Eintracht Frankfurt, and young Ghana international Caleb Yirenkyi from Danish side Nordsjaelland.