By Monsurah Olatunji
Former Premier League forward and pundit Clinton Morrison has explained why Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi is struggling for regular game time at Nottingham Forest.
While Awoniyi has started all three FA Cup games for Forest, scoring once, his Premier League appearances have been limited.
Due to a mix of form and injury concerns, he has only started 7% of the 20 league games he has played in, scoring just one goal.
Across all competitions, the former Liverpool man has netted only 2 goals in 25 appearances this season.
In Awoniyi’s absence, New Zealand striker Chris Wood has been in red-hot form, contributing 18 goals and 3 assists in 27 Premier League matches, which has helped keep Forest in a strong position in the league.
Morrison, who played for clubs like Crystal Palace, Birmingham City, and Sheffield Wednesday between 1998 and 2012, explained that one aspect of Awoniyi’s game could be the reason behind his limited minutes.
“Taiwo Awoniyi doesn’t read the game like Chris Wood does,” Morrison said during the BBC’s coverage.
“You can see he’s a striker coming back to full fitness.”
It remains to be seen if Awoniyi can improve in this area and earn a more prominent role as Forest continues its fight for a strong finish to the season.
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. On the back of domestic engagement since 2008, he began his international career journey at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
