Taiwo Awoniyi posts one-word reaction as 25-year-old Nottingham Forest star shines

The Reds performer has started the season pretty well in the Garibaldi. He’s played in three of the four games that Forest have played and after signing Ibrahim Sangare and Nicolas Dominguez, he knows he has a fight on his hands.

Steve Cooper has been pretty loyal to the player in the past though. He made 30 appearances for the Reds last season, scoring once and also registering a single assist in the Premier League.

Mangala was handed a start for Belgium last night. He played the full 90 minutes as they enjoyed a resounding victory and he also helped himself to an assist during the contest.

Goals and assists are perhaps something that Mangala would like to bring more of to Forest. Still, there are other players in the team who can provide that and at 24, he has the time to improve.

The Nigerian is also on international duty. He scored his team’s third goal at the weekend as they battered Sao Tome and Principe 6-0.

He was on hand last night to give Mangala some praise after his exploits for Belgium. The striker simply posted a single-word message to the midfielder that said: “Maestro”, with a star in their eyes emoji alongside it.

Awoniyi is a man in fine form at present for Forest. He’s scored in three of the four Premier League games that Forest have taken part in this season.

Mangala will now face a bit of uncertainty over his place after the deadline day signings. However, he’s a quality midfielder and with time on his side, hopefully, he can still play lots of football for the Reds.

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Pre-season is never a particularly good time for fans. They typically want the proper stuff to get underway but this summer it was fascinating to get a proper look at Aguilera in a Forest shirt.

A lack of signings in attacking areas early doors meant that Steve Cooper handed him the chance to shine. He didn’t disappoint and he also came off the bench in the Carabao Cup against Burnley too.

The international break for domestic football has seen him head off to play for Costa Rica. Last night, he took just eight minutes to make an impact, creating a consolation goal for his country.

It was a largely experimental team that started last night’s game. However, very few will have foreseen Costa Rica going 4-0 down to a nation that sits at number 72 in the FIFA world rankings.

Aguilera did help stem the tide though and UAE didn’t manage to find a way through with him on the pitch. However, his creative brilliance caught the eye with his delicious ball assisting Julio Cascante for a simple header.

The 20-year-old looks like he will be a quality player for Forest in the future. Aguilera wasn’t loaned out this summer and that suggests he’s going to be a big player for the B-Team during 2023/24.

Aguilera could also get the chance to play two games in the Papa John’s Trophy this season. That will give him more exposure to playing with men and can only aid his development.

The player looks like he could now develop into a quality player with Forest. Clearly, by getting a chance to do pre-season with Cooper’s team, he’s in the thoughts of his head coach.

His assist last night was dreamy and there will definitely be more to come from Aguilera at Forest.