Ipswich are reaching the point where it can’t just rely on neat patterns or good intentions in the final third. They need a proper goalscoring striker, someone who actually shifts games when the chances come.
That’s why Taiwo Awoniyi keeps popping up as a name worth looking at. He’s 28 now, a Nigerian international, and he’s been through enough in the Premier League to know how to handle himself against the big centre‑halves.
There’s nothing overly polished about him, but that’s part of the appeal. He plays in straight lines, uses his strength, and doesn’t get lost trying to be clever for the sake of it.
Ipswich have built their rise on players who work for the team first, and Awoniyi has that feel about him. He’s the kind of forward who could give the attack a bit more weight and, more importantly, the goals Ipswich have been missing.
Taiwo Awoniyi’s career has never really had that clean, straight‑upwards feel you see with some strikers.
It’s been more like a long stretch of trying to find the right place at the right time, and half the time, he was just thrown into whatever situation came next.
Liverpool signed him early, but he never actually got the chance to play there, so he ended up drifting through a bunch of loans: FSV Frankfurt, NEC Nijmegen, Mouscron twice, Gent, Mainz, then Union Berlin.
None of those moves were glamorous, and a few of them looked like he was just trying to stay afloat rather than build anything long‑term. Different leagues, different managers, different expectations every few months. It’s the kind of path that forces a player to toughen up quickly.
Union Berlin was the first time it felt like he’d landed somewhere that actually made sense for him. The football matched the way he naturally plays, and you could see him growing into it stronger, more confident, more sure of what he was supposed to be.
That run earned him a permanent move and eventually brought him back to England with Nottingham Forest. His time there has had its ups and downs, but you can still see the marks of that long journey in the way he plays.
There’s a bit of grit to him, the kind that comes from having to fight for every minute. Ipswich tend to lean toward players with that sort of background. It fits the whole feel of the club’s rise, nothing easy, nothing handed over, just steady graft and players who know how to work.
Ipswich create plenty. That’s never really been the issue. The patterns are there, the wide players get into good areas, and the midfield moves the ball well enough to open teams up.
But there’s still that feeling, especially in tighter games, that nobody is naturally living off the chances. Nobody who treats the six‑yard box like home.
Town have forwards who link play, who press, who stretch the pitch, but not the one who turns half‑chances into goals and gives the team a bit of weight when the match gets scrappy.
You can see it in certain moments: crosses flashing through the box with no one gambling, loose balls that don’t get punished, spells of pressure that look good but don’t actually hurt the opposition. Ipswich don’t need a superstar, just someone who thinks like a striker first.
Someone comfortable with the ugly goals, the scruffy finishes, the ones that come from being in the right place rather than doing anything clever. That’s the gap in the squad right now, a proper goalscoring presence who gives the attack a different edge when the game slows down, or the space disappears.
With Awoniyi, it’s more the feel of him than anything you’d stick on a whiteboard. He plays like someone who doesn’t mind the hard bits the scraps, the chasing, the leaning into centre‑backs who don’t want to be leaned into.
There’s no waiting around for the perfect ball. He just gets on with it. Ipswich have built a lot of their rise on lads who think like that, players who don’t need the game to be tidy to make an impact.
You watch him for a bit, and you can tell he’s not precious. If the ball’s bouncing awkwardly, he’ll still go after it. If the defender’s tight, he’ll still try to roll him. It’s that stubborn streak that tends to go down well at Portman Road.
Fans here don’t really care about the fancy stuff; if they care about someone who looks like they’re in the fight from the first minute.
It’s not complicated. He just fits the mood of the place. A bit rugged, a bit direct, someone who’ll keep going even when the match feels flat. That’s usually the type who settles well here.
Awoniyi’s spell at Forest has been a bit all over the place. Some games, he looks involved, then suddenly he’s out of the picture again, a knock here, a change of shape there, someone else getting a run. Nothing really settles for him.
Forest switches things around a lot up front, and he always seems to be the one moved about to make the new idea work. Hard for any striker to get going when the whole thing keeps shifting underneath you.
Watching him, it doesn’t feel like he’s out of favour. It’s more like he’s stuck in that middle bit where he’s not doing anything wrong, but he’s not getting the stretch of games that lets him build anything. And with the amount of forwards they’ve piled into the squad, it only takes one tweak, and suddenly he’s the one on the edge again.
It doesn’t look like he’s desperate to leave. It’s more than he’s not getting the run he probably needs. Sometimes it’s not about escaping a bad situation it’s just about finding somewhere that gives you a clearer lane and lets you breathe a bit.
Awoniyi’s the sort of striker you get a feel for pretty quickly. There’s nothing complicated about him, nothing you have to decode.
He plays in a straight, honest way, strong, direct, and always willing to throw himself into whatever’s in front of him. If the ball’s there to be chased, he’s off. If there’s a defender to lean on, he’ll lean. He’s not trying to dress anything up; he just gets on with it.
There’s also that thing he does where he turns half‑chances into something. A loose ball, a scruffy bounce, a defender who switches off for a second, he’s alive to all of that.
Ipswich don’t really have a forward who naturally thinks like that. Most of the lads up top link play well, but they’re not the type who live off scraps. Awoniyi’s happy with the ugly stuff. He’ll take a goal off someone’s shin if that’s what’s going.
And he gives you presence. Not just size, but the kind of presence where centre‑backs know they’re in for a long afternoon.
He leans on people, he drags them around, he forces mistakes just by being a nuisance. Ipswich haven’t had that sort of profile in a while, someone who changes the feel of the game just by being there.
If Ipswich did end up getting him, it wouldn’t be some big dramatic shift, more just another piece that changes the feel of certain moments. He gives you a bit of weight up top, someone who can hold his ground when the game gets scruffy and everyone’s tired of chasing shadows.
It’s the sort of thing that helps in those tight spells where the ball won’t stick, and you need someone who can make it stay for a second. It’s not about headlines or trying to look ambitious; it’s just adding something the squad doesn’t always have, a different way of winning the little battles that decide matches. Sometimes that’s enough.
