Liverpool's 'Erling Haaland' failed to play once in six years but could score against them

The time that Taiwo Awoniyi spent as a Liverpool player is one of the more curious stories in the Reds' history, with the striker now closing in on a move to Nottingham Forest.

Awoniyi arrived at Anfield in the summer of 2015 for a relatively nominal fee of £400,000. Sadly for the Nigerian, he never had the chance to pull on the famous red shirt in anger, instead spending his entire time as a Liverpool player out on loan at various European clubs.

Those loans came at FSV Frankfurt, NEC Nijmegen, Royal Excel Mouscron, Gent, Mainz and Union Berlin. Having grown frustrated with his continued exile from Merseyside, Awoniyi opted to join Berlin permanently last summer.

That departure only came after Awoniyi had been positively compared to Erling Haaland, who is widely seen as one of Europe's top strikers. German football expert Constanin Eckner believed that Awoniyi shared similar traits to the Norwegian.

“I think he’s found his level there, he’s what you would call a utility player, so he is perfect for the role they’ve given him. He works quite well for the Union Berlin system, which is also kind of direct, a lot of vertical passes, he makes a number of runs behind the backline," he told Blood Red.

“In a way he reminds me of Erling Haaland with the runs he makes behind the line. Of course, he’s nowhere near the level of Erling Haaland, but just his style is somewhat similar, and he’s a good, not great poacher inside the box, he’s a decent finisher at least."

Work permit issues were what mainly scuppered Awoniyi's time at Liverpool, though he was able to link up with the Reds for pre-season last summer. And it gave him a chance to work properly under Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp for the first time, an experience he