“Liverpool didn’t give us a discount” – Mainz regret missing out on Bundesliga’s best-performing Nigerian star

The Nigerian forward is occupying the upper section of the Bundesliga scoring chart right behind Robert Lewandowski, Erling Haaland, and Patrik Schick after his latest exploits punished one of his former suitors

FSV Mainz sporting director Christian Heidel has voiced his frustration on missing out on the signing of Taiwo Awoniyi after the 24-year-old struck twice on Sunday to hand Mainz their first home defeat of the Bundesliga campaign.

Awoniyi spent the 2019/20 season on loan at Mainz from Liverpool, but the 05ers sent him back to Anfield after finding the back of the net once in twelve league matches.

After another loan spell at Union Berlin, Liverpool were willing to offload the former Golden Eaglets star this summer.

Mainz director Heidel has confessed that they were among those who negotiated with Liverpool to sign Awoniyi. Still, they could not convince the Anfield giants to reduce the asking price for the former Gent man.

“I’ve always liked him, as you have seen, rightly,” Heidel said about Awoniyi, as per Rheinfalz.

“He was on the market, but we couldn’t finance the deal.

“We talked about him, but I didn’t get a discount.”

Union Berlin won the race for Awoniyi’s signature, completing a club-record €6.5 million deal for the Nigerian forward on July 20, 2021.

The former FSV Frankfurt loanee has been in spectacular form since, scoring eight goals and notching two assists in 12 matches across all competitions.

The latest two of those goals came in four second-half minutes at Mainz on Sunday, which helped Union Berlin come from a goal down to win two-one.

Awoniyi’s brace secured the Iron Ones’ third victory in a row while it forced Mainz to their first home defeat in the Bundesliga in a manner that hurts the coach of the 05ers, Bo Svensson.

“Everyone knows Taiwo’s strengths,” Svensson said.

“The two goals we conceded were gifts from us. Unfortunately, that decided the game.”

Five of Awoniyi’s eight goals have been scored in the German top-flight, with only Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (7), Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland (7), and Bayer Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick (6) scoring more. 

This post was last modified on %s = human-readable time difference 3:49 pm

Imhons Erons

Share
Published by
Imhons Erons

Recent Posts

“We’re really close friends” – Tottenham Hotspur’s Dominic Solanke names former teammate as his favourite Nigerian footballer

Tottenham Hotspur and England forward, Dominic Solanke has named Atalanta winger, Ademola Lookman as his… Read More

2 hours ago

“I don’t understand why they are selecting games” – Obafemi slams Super Eagles stars after Rwanda loss

Atalanta 1996 Olympic gold medalist Abiodun Obafemi has voiced his frustration with the lack of… Read More

4 hours ago

Nigerians abroad: Harry Kane leads Bayern Munich past Onyeka’s Augsburg; Okonkwo, Nkama, Godwin shine

Action returns across the top leagues in Europe and Asia as the November international break… Read More

4 hours ago

Report: Trabzonspor revive interest in Nigerian forward amid Besiktas and Genk links

Turkish Super Lig side Trabzonspor have reignited their pursuit of Paul Onuachu, seeking to secure… Read More

6 hours ago

Nigeria: Edo Queens miss out on bronze as FC Masar prevail in CAF Champions League shootout

Edo Queens’ hopes of a podium finish at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League ended… Read More

6 hours ago

WAFCON 2024: Super Falcons drawn with Tunisia, Algeria, and Botswana in Group B

Nigeria have been placed in Group B for the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations… Read More

7 hours ago