Taiwo Awoniyi has been handed a timely lift in confidence after being voted Nottingham Forest’s Goal of the Month for January, thanks to his superb solo strike in the Premier League win over Brentford, footynaija.com reports.
The Nigerian forward produced the standout moment of Forest’s 2-0 success at the Gtech Community Stadium, stepping up after Igor Jesus had opened the scoring. Latching onto a well-weighted pass from Morgan Gibbs-White, Awoniyi surged through the heart of the Brentford defence before calmly rolling a low shot past goalkeeper Caoimhín Kelleher.
Taiwo’s goal at Brentford has been voted Swizzels Sweetest Strike for January. 🍬 pic.twitter.com/s7hyxAWbCS
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) February 5, 2026
Supporters selected the effort from a shortlist of seven goals scored across the club’s men’s, women’s and academy teams, with the award marking Awoniyi’s first goal of the season. It came after a difficult spell in which injuries and limited opportunities restricted him to just eight league appearances and a little over 200 minutes of action.
That lack of game time had earlier cost the 28-year-old a place in Forest’s Europa League squad, as head coach Sean Dyche opted to rely on other attacking options.
While Awoniyi continues his fight for momentum in domestic competition, fellow Super Eagles star Ola Aina has been restored to Nottingham Forest’s Europa League squad for the knockout phase.
Friday night football. 🔜 pic.twitter.com/DVqKzDT8r1
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) February 5, 2026
The versatile full-back had missed the end of the group stage after suffering an injury on international duty but has now returned to fitness and been named in the club’s 22-man UEFA A List.
Forest have also added Omari Hutchinson, Jair Cunha and January signing Lorenzo Lucca ahead of their two-legged play-off against Turkish side Fenerbahçe, with a place in the last 16 at stake.
Awoniyi remains absent from the European squad, though both Nigerians are included in Forest’s updated Premier League list for the remainder of the season.
Forest now switch focus back to league action with a trip to Leeds United, hoping Awoniyi’s award-winning moment can signal a strong run of form in the weeks ahead.
