Liverpool forward Taiwo Awoniyi has quit Belgian club Gent and joined their rivals Royal Excel Mouscron on loan instead, it has been confirmed.
The Merseyside giants announced on their website that the 21-year-old striker’s initial season-long spell at Gent has been ripped up following 22 appearances for the club.
Liverpool revealed Awoniyi has headed immediately to Mouscron, where he spent the entire of the 2017-18 season and scored 10 goals in all competitions.
OPINION
Securing an immediate move for Awoniyi is important business for Liverpool after a fallow spell at Gent in recent months. The word is that the Nigeria Under-23 international, who has been prevented from being able to represent Liverpool at any level since he joined the club in 2015, is something special. Physically imposing, quick and with a real eye for goal, Awoniyi is a centre-forward who is a real handful for opposition defences. His reputation across Europe shot up after his excellent 2017-18 campaign at Belgian top-tier club Mouscron, where he scored 10 goals and supplied eight assists from 31 matches in all competitions. It would have frustrated the youngster that he has not been scoring of late and this, and a mixed relationship with the new Gent manager, appears to be behind his decision to find a new club. When can fans expect to see Awoniyi in a red shirt? To get a UK work permit, he will probably need to be prolific in the second half of the season and establish himself as a regular in the Nigeria senior side.