EPL: The coach of Nottingham Forest commented on Taiwo Awoniyi’s goal-scoring comeback.In Nottingham Forest’s opening Premier League match of the 2023–2024 season, a 2-1 loss, Taiwo Awoniyi scored off the bench against Arsenal.
According to Soccernet.ng, Nuno Espirito Santo, the coach of Nottingham Forest, stated he had no intention of starting Taiwo Awoniyi in the team’s 2-1 loss to Arsenal Friday night.
Chris Wood had to be replaced by Awoniyi at the start of the second half in what looked like a hamstring injury for the Kiwi. With Origi out after picking up a muscle injury, Awoniyi’s return turned out to be right on time for the Reds.
“It is important for us to have as many options as we can. It is imperative to have two strikers available because it is fundamental for our game. Taiwo had two training sessions. Anthony had one training session. Felipe had one training session. We decided to bring them back into the group just to be around, not to give them as many minutes as we did. They were not a part of the plan,” the manager added.
Taiwo Awoniyi, a 26-year-old who missed the AFCON 2023 competition with Nigeria due to a recurrent groyne problem, was sidelined following surgery. This left the new manager without his services.
The former Tottenham Hotspur coach expressed his happiness to having Taiwo Awoniyi back with the team in the post-match interview, but he wasn’t prepared to introduce him so quickly.
The fact that he is back is a plus. Since he has only had two or three practices with the squad, it was not our intention to play him for such a long time, but regrettably, given Chris’s circumstances, we had to include him. His performance was a plus. The manager stated, “He worked, scored, and had minutes.”
