July 19, (THEWILL) – In more transfer news for Nigerian internationals, Taiwo Awoniyi has sealed a permanent move to Union Berlin from former English Premier League champions Liverpool following a successful loan spell last season.
The forward who moved across the seas from Nigeria’s Imperial Soccer Academy to Liverpool, joined the Reds in 2015 but has spent successive seasons since that dream move out on loan. It was a sojourn that took him from FSV Frankfurt to NEC Breda, from Mouscron to Gent and on to Mainz.
In all of these, his growth, development and learning led to him seeing his best ever campaign in the 2020/2021 season as Awoniyi helped Union to a shock seventh place berth. The player’s five Bundesliga goals and three assists from 21 appearances and his overall contribution made him desirable to be given a full deal.
This convinced Union to offer a switch from a loan deal and make his presence with them permanent. Awoniyi agreed terms and signed to finalise the transfer. He will join Die Eisernen with Tuesday’s confirmation of his departure.
The 23-year-old expressed his delight at bringing his loan cycle to an end in remarks that followed the confirmation: “After lots of loan moves in previous years, I want to finally come and have a home. I owe so much to Union, so it makes me happy and proud to be back here.
“It’s fantastic to continue on the great path with the club. I will give everything to quickly pick up where I was before my injury.”
Oliver Ruhnert, who is Union’s Managing Director of Professional Football, was just as pleased to seal the deal: “We got to know Taiwo last season and we became sure of his qualities. His robustness, his dedication and his unconditional willingness to learn and develop were the deciding factors for us to give everything to make this transfer happen.
“We greatly appreciate the efforts of everyone involved to find a suitable solution.”
For the 2020/21 campaign at Union, Awoniyi began as backup to the freescoring Max Kruse but after Union manager, Urs Fischer, fielded the pair as a front two as the season progressed, it became clear that they had synergy that could be harnessed for the good of the club’s fixtures and it worked.
Unfortunately Awoniyi was dealt a bitter blow when a muscle tear ruled him out for 11 games in February. The player returned from the lengthy layoff in time for Union’s final two games. As a substitute in both, he joined to secure the club a UEFA Conference League football in their second ever Bundesliga campaign.
In the maiden edition of the Conference, Union will challenge for honours alongside Nuno Espirito Santo’s Tottenham Hotspur, who also qualified for the competition on the final day of last season’s EPL matches.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
