Coventry have agreed a deal worth about £17m for Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi, with the move close but not yet officially completed. BBC Sport reported the agreement, while Goal.com said Awoniyi is preparing to bring his Forest career to a close. It is a serious piece of business for a newly promoted side and a logical end to an injury-hit final stretch at the City Ground.

Awoniyi leaves Forest having scored 23 goals in 103 games, which is a decent return even if his spell never fully settled into a consistent run as the club's leading striker. Coventry's interest also comes at a pointed moment. They are back in the Premier League for the first time in 25 years and open their campaign against Arsenal on Friday.

Where the move stands

BBC Sport's line was simple: "Coventry City have agreed a deal worth about £17m for Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi." Goal.com's wording pointed in the same direction, reporting: "Taiwo Awoniyi is preparing to bring his Nottingham Forest career to a close as a move to newly-promoted Coventry City edges closer to completion."

Those reports leave a small but important distinction. The deal is agreed or very close, but it should still be treated as pending final completion rather than done and signed off.

That said, the direction is clear enough. Coventry are pushing hard before the new season starts, and Awoniyi looks set to become part of that rebuild under Frank Lampard rather than a late-window possibility.

Forest's return on Awoniyi

Awoniyi joined Forest from Union Berlin in summer 2022 for a then-club record £17.2m on a five-year deal. The proposed fee from Coventry is only described as about £17m, so this is not a case of Forest simply getting back the exact same number. Still, it is close enough to count as a strong recovery on a player whose final year was badly disrupted.

His overall Forest record was respectable. Twenty-three goals in 103 games does not put him among the division's elite strikers, but it does show he gave the club real output across his time there.

The sharper part of the story is what happened last season. Awoniyi started just three games and made 17 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals. Forest were clearly no longer building the attack around him, and that made a summer sale easier to understand.

There was also the far more serious backdrop of his injury. He was placed in an induced coma in May 2025 after rupturing his intestine in a collision with a post against Leicester. It would have been unrealistic to expect a clean, uninterrupted run after that, and the stop-start feel of his final season followed.

Goal.com also highlighted one reminder of his quality, saying he managed two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last May. Even in a difficult closing chapter, there were still flashes of the striker Forest thought they were buying in 2022.

Coventry's calculation before Arsenal

For Coventry, this is not a low-risk squad filler. A deal worth about £17m for a striker with Awoniyi's top-flight experience is an aggressive move from a club about to start life back in the Premier League.

The attraction is obvious enough. Coventry are buying a forward who has handled the league before, who has a proven scoring record at Forest, and who should arrive with something to prove after a season dominated by limited starts and recovery work.

There is risk attached as well, mainly around rhythm and fitness after such a broken final spell. But promoted teams do not stay up by shopping timidly, and Coventry's willingness to move for Awoniyi before Friday's opener against Arsenal shows how they want to attack this return.

Whether the final paperwork lands immediately or not, the substance of the deal is already clear. Coventry have moved for a striker with 23 Forest goals behind him, and Forest look ready to close the book on a signing who arrived for £17.2m in 2022.

FAQ

Will Taiwo Awoniyi leave Nottingham Forest for Coventry City?

The move is not officially complete yet, but it is close. BBC Sport reported that Coventry have agreed a deal worth about £17m for Awoniyi, while Goal.com said he is preparing to bring his Nottingham Forest career to a close as the move edges closer to completion.

Why are Nottingham Forest ready to sell Taiwo Awoniyi?

Awoniyi's final spell at Forest was disrupted. Last season he started just three games and made 17 appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals. That followed a serious injury in May 2025, and his place in the side had clearly weakened by the end of his time at the City Ground.

What did Taiwo Awoniyi achieve at Nottingham Forest?

Awoniyi joined Forest from Union Berlin in summer 2022 for a then-club record £17.2m on a five-year deal. He went on to score 23 goals in 103 games for the club before this proposed move to Coventry gathered pace.

How big is Coventry City's move for Taiwo Awoniyi?

It is a significant move for a newly promoted side. Coventry have agreed a deal worth about £17m for a striker who scored 23 goals in 103 games for Forest, and the transfer fits the club's aggressive rebuild before their first Premier League season in 25 years.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →