Nottingham Forest in talks to sign Union Berlin forward Taiwo Awoniyi

Nottingham Forest have opened talks to sign the Union Berlin striker Taiwo Awoniyi, who has a release clause in the region of €20m (£17.2m).The Nigeria international started his professional career with Liverpool but never played a first-team game for the club. The Premier League runners-up will, however, earn 10% of any fee paid for the 24-year-old.

During his time on the books at Anfield, Awoniyi had seven loan spells, at clubs in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, before joining Union Berlin in a permanent deal in 2021.

Awoniyi scored 15 Bundesliga goals last season to help Union Berlin to a fifth-place finish. A number of other European clubs are also tracking the striker but he has previously admitted interest in moving to the Premier League, and Forest are not the only team in England keen on acquiring his services.

If Awoniyi does move to the City Ground, he could be joined by the Mainz centre-back Moussa Niakhaté, who is also a key Forest target. The pair played alongside one another in the 2019-20 season when the Awoniyi was on loan there.

In other news, Forest are still in talks with Manchester United over securing the loan signing of the goalkeeper Dean Henderson and are hopeful of concluding a deal.