Former Liverpool youngster Taiwo Awoniyi will join a Premier League club in the summer transfer window but, according to Soccernet, he is yet to decide between Newcastle United, West Ham and Southampton.
The Nigeria international recently became the most prolific goalscorer in Union Berlin’s Bundesliga history, less than two years after joining the capital city club.
It must be said out that Union are hardly top-flight regulars. Far from it. But the point still stands.
Awoniyi, forced out of Anfield after failing to earn a work permit, has been a revelation on German soil. So much so that a handful of Premier League clubs are willing to part with £25 million for a man who set Union back a mere fifth of that fee not so long ago.
According to Goal, Newcastle, West Ham and Southampton have few qualms about stumping up the sort of eye-watering fee Union want for their powerhouse number nine.
Which Premier League club will Taiwo Awoniyi join?
And it is understood that Awoniyi, in conjunction with his agent, has already decided that he will return to England at the end of the current campaign.
The 24-year-old, who still has family and friends in Britain, feels he has ‘unfinished business’ in the UK. What’s more, he will not face work permit problems this time around, having featured for Nigeria at the recent African Cup of Nations.
“The Premier League is my dream,” Awoniyi admitted to Kicker recently. “Everyone knows that, including here in the club (Union Berlin).
“If I lived in England, it would be easier for my wife and child. Just because of the language. Also, my sister and a brother live on the island.”
Which club Awoniyi ends up at, however, remains uncertain.
West Ham have been scouring the market for a new number nine ever since Sebastien Haller returned to the Netherlands 14 months ago.
And Awoniyi, an aggressive, physical and versatile centre-forward with 17 goals in all competitions, looks every inch the perfect successor for an overworked Michail Antonio at the London Stadium.
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