Nuno: We know Awoniyi’s quality, but his fitness level must increase

Nothingham Forest boss, Nuno Espirito Santos has admitted Taiwo Awoniyi will need to work on boosting up his fitness before the new Premier League campaign begins, but he is confident the Nigerian will get there after the 26 featured for a few minutes in the club’s last friendly game.

‘We are taking care of Awoniyi. He needs time. He started working with us for one week. He needs time,’ Nuno said.

‘We know his quality, but his fitness level must increase. It is normal that we still see players struggling, in terms of fitness, but we still have two weeks to get them really well to face Bournemouth. This is what it is all about – preparation for the first game of the league.’

Awoniyi was Forest’s top scorer in his first season at the club and still managed to score six times to end as the club’s third top scorer despite many weeks out injured.

The Nigerian has featured 53 times for the club, netting 17 times across two seasons.