“Need to wake my demons” – struggling Super Eagles star hints at need to improve Premier League form

The Nigerian international has struggled to replicate his 2022 form in the English top flight and he is the first to admit that he has to produce more

Super Eagles forward Emmanuel Dennis is aware that he is performing below expectations and needs to get back to his best form quickly.

Dennis made an instant impact in the English Premier League last season after joining Watford from Belgian giants Club Brugge.

The former FC Cologne loanee scored 10 goals in 33 games for the Hornets and was the sole bright spot in an otherwise forgettable campaign that ended in relegation.

Nottingham Forest snapped up Dennis in August after paying Watford €14.8 million for his services and he was expected to form a potentially lethal pairing with compatriot Taiwo Awoniyi.

However, things have not gone as planned.
While Awoniyi has managed four league goals for the Tricky Trees, Dennis has managed only a goal and an assist in ten appearances.

Dennis has struggled to impress manager Steve Cooper who has not named the 25-year-old attacker in the Nottingham starting lineup for a Premier League match since November.

There were even talks of the club looking to offload Dennis during the winter transfer window after he was deemed surplus to requirements.

But it appears the Abuja-born forward will stay at the City Ground at least for the rest of the campaign with no offers coming from England or abroad.

Dennis, however, seems to have traced the cause of his loss of form to his ‘demons’ falling asleep, and the Nigerian international has kicked off the exercises to ‘wake them up’.

Writing on his official page on Twitter, Dennis said, “Need to wake my demons up, they seem asleep. I need them awake.”

In his Premier League career overall, Dennis has played 43 matches in the competition, with 11 goals and seven assists. He has also been sent off once, with nine yellow cards collected overall.