Former Liverpool striker Taiwo Awaniyi has talked about how Mo Salah’s arrival changed his time playing for the Reds.
Despite often training with the Egyptian King, the 26-year-old, who is currently a player for Nottingham Forest, never held a senior position for Jurgen Klopp’s squad after signing in 2015.
The Nigerian claims that because he was up against Salah, Sadio Mane, and Bobby Firmino for a spot in Klopp’s team, he had to make the “tough decision” to hunt for consistent playing time elsewhere.
“The training sessions, whoa!” he said in an interview with Liverpoolfc.com (via Daily Star). I knew you would gain from this kind of instruction! If you don’t train in that manner, you won’t receive anything at the end of the season.
“You see, at the time there were guys like Firmino, Mane, Salah, and others. I knew that my chances of playing were rather slim. I knew I had to get to the point where I was coming in every week. It was hard to leave, but I had to make the decision.
Being the second fiddle to our No. 11 is not at all demeaning.
Since joining the squad in 2016 after leaving AS Roma, Salah has been nothing short of extraordinary, helping the team win every major award imaginable.
He seems to be getting better every year, and he now owns the club record for most goals scored in the Premier League and throughout Europe.
Conversely, Awoniyi joined Forest from Union Berlin during the summer and helped the team maintain its Premier League status with 10 goals in 27 appearances.
With five goals in eight games so far this campaign, he has also had a great start.
We’re happy to hear a former Red talk so candidly about his time at Liverpool, and we wish him all the best in the future!
