Taiwo Awoniyi will excel at Nottingham Forest, according to Ndubisi Chukunyere, who believes that the striker would prove Liverpool wrong.
Having impressed at Bundesliga side Union Berlin, the 24-year-old was snapped up by the newly promoted English elite division side on a five-year contract.
This move will help Awoniyi realise his dream of playing in the Premier League after all hopes appeared to be dashed following his exit from Anfield.
Reacting to the transfer, former Super Eagles striker Chukunyere, who played for Hibernians, claims Awoniyi would move on to achieve bigger things with the Reds, and also expects that to help him cement his place in Jose Peseiro’s squad.
"I never saw this coming but without any doubt, Awoniyi has proven to be Premier League material with his performances in Germany,” he told GOAL.
"By all standards, the return to England is a great move and I am upbeat that he will excel because he is well built for the English Premier League.
“Of course, it is too early to judge how many goals he would score or not, however, I see the young man moving from Nottingham Forest to do good things in his professional career.
“On the international scene, that might also help him get more Super Eagles call-ups and I see a situation whereby, coach Peseiro would have a selection headache judging by the quality of strikers in his team.”
Awoniyi joined Liverpool in 2015, paying £400,000 ($550,000) to the Imperial Soccer Academy having spotted him playing for Nigeria at the U20 World Cup in New Zealand.
Following his inability to secure a UK work permit, he spent the next six seasons on a series of loans, spending time at FSV Frankfurt, NEC, Mouscron, Gent and Mainz before a permanent move to Stadion An der Alten Forsterei.
Chukunyere is of the opinion that manager Jurgen Klopp might regret his decision not to keep Awoniyi at Liverpool.
“Many may argue that Liverpool at that time had [Mohamed] Salah, [Sadio] Mane, and [Roberto] Firmino, but the reality remains that Awoniyi was not given that chance to prove his worth,” he continued.
“Well, all these things happen in football but trust me, if our man shines with Forest, Liverpool will bite their fingers for letting a quality player go.
“Until then, we can only hope that Awoniyi makes everyone proud and justify the price tag.”
During his time with the Iron Ones, Awoniyi featured in 65 competitive games with 25 goals and nine assists to his credit.
And it is unsurprising that managing director Oliver Ruhnert described his departure as a 'great loss'.
"It was clear that a player like Taiwo would attract the attention of other clubs with his performances. Both athletically and personally, he is a great loss for our team, which now has to be absorbed," Ruhnert said as per GOAL.
