Nottingham Forest manager Sean Dyche has admitted that Taiwo Awoniyi’s quality in the box could prove crucial for the club in the coming weeks, SportPremi reports.
The Tricky Trees welcome newly-promoted Leeds United to the City Ground on Sunday afternoon, hoping to secure a first win under their new manager.
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Dyche, 54, was appointed by owner Evangelos Marinakis last month after the dismissal of former Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou, who only spent 39 days at the club.
The club sit 19th on the standings with just six points and are without a league win since the opening weekend of the 2025-26 league season.
Everything Sean Dyche said
Speaking ahead of the must-win clash against Leeds United, Sean Dyche provided the latest team news and also hinted at the possibility of a starting spot for Taiwo Awoniyi.
The Nigerian forward suffered an unfortunate injury that prematurely ended his campaign in the 2024-25 season, but recently returned to action last month.
The 28-year-old is yet to complete 90 minutes since his return, but has played a part in Forest’s last three league matches.
“Igor (Jesus) was obviously suspended, and we’ve got the three players (Taiwo Awoniyi, Omari Hutchinson and Jair Cunha) who are not part of the Europa League group. That’s challenging in itself”, Sean Dyche admitted.
“Taiwo is slightly different. He has been around a bit longer. He can hold it up and get it in the box, but you have to get quality into the box.
“That is one thing I questioned heavily about Bournemouth – we hardly put any crosses in. We were in terrific areas to cross it from and yet we didn’t do that.
“We put a cross into the right area against Porto and got a penalty. It is not always about a clean goal, it is also about the scruffy ones”, the 54-year-old continued.
“Over the season, you want scruffy goals. The good ones take care of themselves.
“What about finding the scruffy goals? What about finding set-pieces and balls bouncing around the box? They are as important as any goal. We are reminding the players of that.”
Can Awoniyi take his chance at Forest?
With Chris Woods currently out injured and summer arrival from Brazil Igor Jesus underperforming, Taiwo Awoniyi could become Forest’s first-choice forward in coming weeks.
The Super Eagles forward thrives at linking up with his teammates and his pace can also help the team in counterattacking situations.
The former Union Berlin forward has previously shown his goalscoring prowess and should show glimpses of his quality if given a chance from the start.
