Taiwo Awoniyi has claimed that his move to Liverpool would have worked out if he had acquired a work visa as Kelechi Iheanacho did after joining Manchester City through the special talent programme.
Awoniyi joined Liverpool in 2015 but was unable to play for the Reds owing to a work visa issue that would have allowed him to play in England.
In order to purchase time and gain eligibility to play for Liverpool, he had loan stints with Mainz O5, Union Berlin, Royal Excel Mouscron, Gent, FSV Frankfurt, and NEC.
The 26-year-old had hoped that if he performed well on loan, he would be called up to the national team, allowing him to play for Liverpool, but his request was not granted.
In a recent interview, Awoniyi discussed his time at Anfield and how he worked hard to achieve success with the Merseyside club.
“We discovered that we needed a work permit, and in order to get one, I needed to play for Nigeria’s first team.”
“When I signed, my Nigerian teammate Kelechi Iheanacho had already received a work permit under the special talent scheme [to join Manchester City].” They ended the unique talent programme because of him.
“The only option I had was to stay on loan, hoping that if I did well on loan and played for the national team, I’d be able to get the work permit and return [to Liverpool].”
“I continued to go on loan.” And the national team call-ups still didn’t arrive, so I had no choice but to keep pushing.”
Last summer, the 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup winner returned to England, signing a multi-year contract with two-time European champions Nottingham Forest, and has established himself as one of the Premier League’s top attackers.
