“But he is in our thoughts and I have contact with him from time to time. We always try to keep in touch in different forms.”
Awoniyi had already secured a pre-contract agreement with Kalmar before Liverpool moved to sign him from the Imperial Soccer Academy in 2015.
The Reds were left to compensate the Swedish outfit, along with paying his former side £400,000, despite no assurance that he would qualify for a work permit.
It seems unlikely at this stage that Awoniyi will ever play for his parent club, as Jurgen Klopp‘s squad evolves while he struggles for game time around the continent.
Though Kalmar are an option, it can be argued that they are a major step down from both NEC and Awoniyi’s former loan club, FSV Frankfurt—but he could be provided more game time in Sweden.
At this stage, Awoniyi would be best served joining a club that could offer him regular first-team football to avoid stagnating, after initially being heralded as one of Nigeria’s top talents.
The teenager has three caps for the Nigeria U23s, and was included in the provisional senior squad for the Olympics in 2016, but was omitted from Samson Siasia’s final 18-man selection.