Football: Mainz eyeing up January move for forgotten Super Eagles’ striker Taiwo Awoniyi?

by Geoffrey Ejiga | by Geoffrey Ejiga

image Football: Mainz eyeing up January move for forgotten Super Eagles’ striker Taiwo Awoniyi?
Last-placed Mainz are looking to reunite with Nottingham Forest's Taiwo Awoniyi, just as the Nigerian striker hunts for a career revival following his return from injury. But can a loan move for Awoniyi truly help steer the German club away from the relegation zone? Let's discuss Taiwo's potential transfer and what it could mean for the 05ers.

Goal-Lacking Mainz Turns to Former Loanee

Mainz 05 haven't lost the most games or conceded the most goals, but they remain the joint-lowest scorers in the league (13). Things drastically need to improve up front if the Bundesliga club hopes to avoid relegation, which they've done for the past 17 years.

One potential solution to their goals-scoring problem is recruiting the 28-year-old Taiwo Awoniyi from Nottingham Forest, where he's struggling to get game time. Although he featured in Forest's last three games of December, Awoniyi only came on as a substitute and played a grand total of 55 minutes across those three games.

The Nigerian striker also seeks a career revival, and another stint at Mainz, where he spent the 2019/2020 season on loan from Liverpool, might be the perfect move.

Former Coach Fischer Wants Awoniyi Back

Interestingly, spearheading the move is his former Union Berlin coach, Urs Fischer. Awoniyi worked with the Switzerland coach who signed him permanently from Liverpool following his stint at Mainz.

Fischer’s €5m not only paid off with Awoniyi providing 25 G/A for Union, but the club made a handsome profit after selling Taiwo to Forest for €20.5m. Now, Fischer, who joined Mainz just last month, wants Awoniyi back in his ranks as they look to turn a terrible season around.

In the Conference League, where Mainz finished 7th to bag an automatic qualification spot, they scored seven goals in six games. However, they've now only managed 13 goals in 15 Bundesliga games, ultimately placing them in last position.

What's also interesting is that all three bottom-placed teams are the joint-lowest scorers (13). This may mean the team that eventually escapes relegation might be the one that solves the output problem. And Mainz already has Awoniyi on their radar.

What Awoniyi’s Loan Move Means for Nottingham

Forest sits just one spot outside the relegation zone, and only four points above 18th-placed West Ham. They too have an apparent goal-scoring problem as Forest have registered just 18 goals in 19 games, the second fewest of the EPL season.

Nottingham definitely needs as much firepower as they can get, especially since Chris Wood's injury in October. However, Forest doesn't seem to be putting their faith in the Nigerian striker.

With Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and Igor Jesus upfront, Awoniyi has struggled to get minutes since he came back in October. Taiwo has now played only 188 minutes in the league this season, which is just about two full matches.

At this rate, even Nottingham stands to benefit from a potential loan move for their striker. Awoniyi can get the revival he needs, which will only increase his market value and ensure Forest breaks even or makes a profit on their €20.5m man.