Nottingham Forest struck gold with a £17.5 million gem worth more than Murillo.

He’s been vital to Nottingham Forest since returning from injury.
Nottingham Forest aren’t afraid to make a few signings, having brought in 34 players since their promotion back to the Premier League in May 2022.

The club was recently charged with violating the Premier League’s FFP and PSR regulations after spending more than £220 million on players in the last 21 months. Expensive signings like Emmanuel Dennis and Jonjo Shelvey failed to meet expectations, and they are just two examples of the Reds’ poor business practices in recent years.
Despite this, the club has made some excellent additions, with Morgan Gibbs-White and Anthony Elanga proving to be well worth the £42.5 million and £15 million they cost, respectively, to join the City Ground.
Striker Taiwo Awoniyi is another Trentside success story. The 26-year-old was the Reds’ first signing back in the top flight, joining in June 2022 from German side Union Berlin.
Nottingham Forest paid a fee for Taiwo Awoniyi

Awoniyi joined the Reds for a then-club-record fee of £17.5 million, becoming the first of a slew of Bundesliga transfers to Forest.

George Syrianos, Forest’s recruitment chief at the time, identified players from Germany’s top tier after working as a head analyst at VfB Stuttgart. Moussa Niakhate, Omar Richards, and Orel Mangala have all joined the club, with the latter profiting handsomely from his move to Lyon just two weeks ago.Despite injury issues, the Nigeria international has established himself as a key player under new manager Nuno Espírito Santo, scoring 15 times in 39 Premier League matches.
One of his goals last season came in a crucial 1-0 victory over his former club Liverpool, prompting praise from Reds manager Jürgen Klopp, who described the 26-year-old as “sensational”.
Awoniyi made an immediate impact at the City Ground after his arrival, scoring the only goal in the Reds’ 1-0 victory over West Ham United in the club’s first Premier League home game in 23 years.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s market value by 2024

No one could have predicted how important the Nigerian striker would be to the Reds following his move from the Bundesliga. The 26-year-old has five goals in 13 Premier League appearances this season, and the former Liverpool striker must help the Reds stay in the division.
Although his overall statistics aren’t particularly impressive, the Forest striker excels in specific areas, demonstrating his importance to the team when he plays.

This season, Awoniyi has an average of 0.64 non-penalty goals per 90 minutes, putting him among the top 11% of strikers in Europe’s top five leagues.
The Nigerian also averages 1.9 aerial duels won per game, which is important given that Forest frequently find themselves under pressure and play a high-intensity counter-attacking style.

According to Transfermarkt, Awoniyi is now worth £24 million, £5 million more than youngster Murillo, who has excelled since joining from Corinthians during the summer transfer window.
If he can stay fit and regain full fitness in the coming weeks, Awoniyi could be a huge asset in Forest’s bid to stay in the Premier League at the end of the 2023/24 season.

In other news, ‘It will take time’. Nuno advises Nottingham Forest fans not to get overly excited about striker