23-year-old Nigerian forward Taiwo Awoniyi has not made a single appearance for the Reds.
After signed for the Reds six years ago he has been sent on seven loan moves.
In August 2015, an 18-year-old Awoniyi joined Liverpool for a reported £400,000. His age and relatively low transfer fee suggested he would not immediately be in the club’s first-team plans, and troubles obtaining a permit to work in the UK confirmed this.
This will be his first pre-season with Liverpool.
He is one of the few players at the club to have joined prior to the arrival of current manager Jürgen Klopp in October 2015 but has been unable to represent the Premier League side due to those work permit issues.
The introduction of different requirements for overseas players in the English leagues post-Brexit, combined with Awoniyi’s time in the German Bundesliga with Union Berlin during the 2020/21 season, means the Nigerian is now eligible to play for an English Premier League side.
That Premier League side might not be Liverpool, but for the first time in Awoniyi’s career he is technically able to play for the club that signed him six years ago.
He is part of Liverpool’s pre-season plans and is likely to play a key role as first-choice striker, Roberto Firmino, will not join pre-season straight away due to his involvement in this summer’s Copa America with Brazil.
Divock Origi is the only other recognised out-and-out striker in Liverpool’s pre-season squad, but the Belgian is also linked with a move away from Merseyside having only played a bit-part role last season.
This means Awoniyi will play an important part in Liverpool’s pre-season and will be lining up alongside the likes of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in attack.
The question is, will his Liverpool contribution last beyond this summer?
The general consensus is no, and he will either be loaned out or sold with Liverpool valuing him at $11 million, but an impressive pre-season could change all that, especially if there are offers for Origi.
Though Origi was part of Liverpool’s heroic Champions League run and final victory in 2019, his impact last season was minimal.
Having Awoniyi on the bench rather than Origi would give Liverpool a genuine alternative that would give opposition defenders something different to worry about, which could then create space for the likes of Mane, Salah, or Diogo Jota.
When it comes to goalscoring Awoniyi managed five in 15 starts last season compared to Firmino’s nine in 33 starts. The Nigerian’s xG per 90 was slightly higher, coming in at 0.46 compared to Firmino’s 0.40 (FBref).
It’s difficult to compare them with Origi as Liverpool’s backup striker played so few minutes last season but, bearing in mind he’s played a number of games from the wing, his career xG per 90 is 0.36.
Awoniyi isn’t a Firmino replica but there are signs that he could do some of what Firmino does in Liverpool’s system while also offering a different dimension.
His goalscoring stats suggest he is more of a goal-getter than Klopp’s current options.
Whether he graduates from pre-season to competitive matches for Liverpool this year remains to be seen, but a role similar to that which Origi played last year may exist again, and Awoniyi may even prove more useful in it than the Belgian.
