Awoniyi makes EPL Team of the Week

Former Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur striker turned BBC pundit, Garth Crooks, has selected his Premier League Team of the Week, with Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi making the cut.

The Nigeria international became the first Nottingham Forest player to score in each of his first three Premier League starts at the City Ground when he found the net in the 55th minute of a 1-0 win over his former club Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

Awoniyi was the quickest to react and tucked away the rebound after his initial effort hit the post.

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Eight different clubs have contributed players to Crooks’ Team of the Week namely Nottingham Forest (2), Manchester City (2), Aston Villa (2), Manchester United, Arsenal, Leicester City, Everton and Newcastle United.

Crooks has gone for Dean Henderson in goal, and a three-man defence consisting of Dan Burn, Tyrone Mings and Vitalii Mykolenko.

The star-studded midfield is made up of Granit Xhaka, Casemiro, Youri Tielemans and Kevin de Bruyne, while Danny Ings, Erling Haaland and Awoniyi occupy the attacking positions in a 3-4-3 formation.

On Awoniyi, Crooks wrote: “Being employed by a top professional club without ever making the grade can take some getting over. Taiwo Awoniyi must have dreamt about scoring for Liverpool as a youngster but left without playing a single game.

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“He could never have imagined that one day he would inflict one of the club’s most embarrassing defeats. Only football can throw up these strange events.

Awoniyi was on the books of Liverpool for six years but could not make his debut for the Merseyside giants due to a work permit obstacle, leading to loan spells at six different clubs.

The 2013 FIFA U17 World Cup winner has appeared in 11 Premier League matches so far this season, of which five were starts.