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Taiwo Micheal Awoniyi

YouReds43

Viv Anderson
I'd like to try to give him benefit of the doubt for his lack of game time. I believe Awoniyi first began struggling with groin issues last season and the club were trying to manage his fitness and appearances because of how important he was, not only as a presence but because of his goal threat.

The groin issues were persistent but Awoniyi tried to plough through it however he had no choice but to have groin surgery in November 2023.

Personally, I think he was rushed back too soon after surgery and that FA Cup game against Bristol City was far too taxing on his body.

Then again, could it be that his natural style is so explosive and physical that he's always going to be susceptible to injury? I just don't know.
He was rushed back, DT said his entourage weren’t happy. That’s why a Move may happen
 

Viktor

Bee Gees Fan Club member #00001
LTLF Minion
Is that right? Wow!!!
It's actually twice, I think Colin Fray said, which is just pedantry from myself.

I'm hoping that we barely saw him at the end of the season in an attempt to manage his recovery. Was definitely rushed back I think
 

HBB

Jack Burkitt
If money is tight then he's the one to sell with the injury record he's got. Yes he could do well with a long lay off over the summer but if tough decisions have to be made, then we stayed up despite him, not because of him, which I don't believe is the case for the others. I still think that part of his issue was how top heavy he is/was, a bit like Assombalonga and he was never same after he came back from that knee injury.
 

Monkman

Jack Burkitt
I love Taiwo, but his fitness is a major concern. Sadly if an offer comes in for him before the end of June that allows us to pass FFP/PSR without selling Murillo or MGW then it is a no brainer really.
Yeah this is what it boils down to, 100% agree - IF we'd raise enough from his sale, which given our initial outlay and his injury record I'm not convinced about. If not then I'll be happy to see him stay and hopefully start more games next season.
 

marshal99

John Robertson
awoniyi is a good player when fit, some clubs like west ham will take a punt despite his injury record just as i'm sure someone will take a punt on rowe-smith despite his horrendous record (worse than awoniyi)
 

Gyros Peter

Sauce salad?
awoniyi is a good player when fit, some clubs like west ham will take a punt despite his injury record just as i'm sure someone will take a punt on rowe-smith despite his horrendous record (worse than awoniyi)
The problem here is the a punt will be nowhere near his peak value: a fit and firing Awoniyi is worth more than his weight in gold. Given the fee paid and contract length (so amortization), rather than raise 5-10m I think we'd be much better off giving him a year to prove fitness. It's not much of a gamble in the grand scheme of things.

Definite no from me.
 

Monkman

Jack Burkitt
The problem here is the a punt will be nowhere near his peak value: a fit and firing Awoniyi is worth more than his weight in gold. Given the fee paid and contract length (so amortization), rather than raise 5-10m I think we'd be much better off giving him a year to prove fitness. It's not much of a gamble in the grand scheme of things.

Definite no from me.
Valid in isolation, but what if doing that means we have to sell MGW or Murillo? I could just about stomach it if it meant a big profit on Murillo, but not MGW.
 

Gyros Peter

Sauce salad?
Valid in isolation, but what if doing that means we have to sell MGW or Murillo? I could just about stomach it if it meant a big profit on Murillo, but not MGW.
Regardless of interest I think whether they stay or go comes down to what either player wants - my hunch, fwiw, is that Morgan leaves us this summer, while I think Murrilo will be happy to stay and the offers we get probably won't match our valuation.

Tldr I don't think a Taiwo sale would play much of, if any, part in terms of whether the players we would like to keep stay or go.
 

Frank Clark’s Tash

Jack Burkitt
A lower initial fee, plus add ons for not being a biscuit would be the most likely scenario. Not sure that helps much with the immediate PSR requirements though.
 

Monkman

Jack Burkitt
But surely if, through an Awoniyi sale or whatever, the club didn't need to sell MGW why would they let him leave? Even if he wanted to, I can't see him having a strop and refusing to play, he's not that kind of character.
 

Ashley

Steve Chettle
Whether we should sell depends on the fee and when the offer lands on our table.

A bid that offers barely any more than what we paid for him and/or arrives after the June cut-off point for FFP/PSR? That offer can go straight in the bin.

A bid that arrives before the June cut-off point that allows us to pass FFP/PSR without selling Murillo or MGW for a reduced price? Doing business in those circumstances is probably the right move.

Regardless of interest I think whether they stay or go comes down to what either player wants - my hunch, fwiw, is that Morgan leaves us this summer, while I think Murrilo will be happy to stay and the offers we get probably won't match our valuation.
I think whether they stay or go more comes down to what offers we get on the table. MGW may want to leave more than Murillo does, but if we don't get a bid that matches what we want for MGW then he won't be going anywhere and if we do receive and offer that matches what we want for Murillo then it'll almost certainly be the latter that goes IMO.

Personally I don't see anyone matching what we want for MGW this summer. All the clubs that could afford what we'd want for MGW are already well stocked in that area and are unlikely to make an acceptable bid IMO. Murillo will likely fetch a bigger fee this summer and will be this summer's FFP/PSR sacrificial lamb IMO.
 
Even if he wanted to, I can't see him having a strop and refusing to play, he's not that kind of character.
Maybe not, but even a small drop in effort due to being disgruntled can have a significant effect on a player's output at the highest level. As exhibit A, I present MGW being played out wide by Cooper.
 

Gyros Peter

Sauce salad?
But surely if, through an Awoniyi sale or whatever, the club didn't need to sell MGW why would they let him leave? Even if he wanted to, I can't see him having a strop and refusing to play, he's not that kind of character.
Rightly or wrongly, I don't really see modern football that way - player power and all that, and ultimately we'll have a valuation, if it's met he'll leave. I think it will be met.
 

Frank Clark’s Tash

Jack Burkitt
But surely if, through an Awoniyi sale or whatever, the club didn't need to sell MGW why would they let him leave? Even if he wanted to, I can't see him having a strop and refusing to play, he's not that kind of character.
Maybe the club don't see him as a reliable 1st/2nd choice striker, and I'm not sure he'd want to spend the season on the bench.
 

Monkman

Jack Burkitt
Maybe not, but even a small drop in effort due to being disgruntled can have a significant effect on a player's output at the highest level. As exhibit A, I present MGW being played out wide by Cooper.
I'd say his output dropped due to being out of position rather than any drop in effort (plus possibly lingering effects of his busy summer).
 
I'd say his output dropped due to being out of position rather than any drop in effort (plus possibly lingering effects of his busy summer).
He had all the necessary ability to play that position. So my perception is his output dropped due to wanting to be back in what he sees as his position.
 

Red Echo

First Team Squad
We were supposedly courting for Lopetegui for a while, so I wonder if he watched a few games and took a liking to Taiwo.

He's part of the core of the new-school Forest, but his injury problems are verging on chronic. It's a tough call.
 

I'm Red Till Dead

Stuart Pearce
I think we have played Taiwo when he hasn't been fully fit which has made his problems worse and his injury record look worse than it possibly is.

There was a comment earlier about him not completing a 90 minute game. For me that is down to the managers trying to manage his play with his injury and bringing him back in too soon after injury because of our desperation to survive. Add to this that it's a common decision of managers to switch the attackers towards the final third of a game to bring in fresh legs and change the attacking options.

If we lose Taiwo he may well perform brilliantly elsewhere. If he stays we might find his injuries are ongoing. It's a hard call for the club to make. For me I'd like to see him stay if we can keep him. If he stays we probably need to get another regular goal scorer or promote from the accademy if there is anyone nearly ready. If we lose him we might need two.

Saw this earlier about Taiwo's development The Inside Story - Taiwo Awoniyi
 
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