Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi has spoken on his time at Liverpool – and why he felt he needed to leave the club – in a recent interview.

Awoniyi had nothing but positive things to say about his former club. He lumped praise on the atmosphere of the club and how they helped him to settle in – he also commented on the intensity of their training sessions.

However, due to the calibre of players at the club during his stint with the Reds, Awoniyi felt he needed to depart in order to secure regular first-team football.

What did Taiwo Awoniyi say about his time at Liverpool?

Speaking on his time at Liverpool, Awoniyi reminisced [via Liverpool club website]: “For me, going through all those clubs and all those stages, it was all with the aim of one day being back in the Premier League. I think in the end it was worth it, but I can say it was a tough journey.

“Liverpool, I always say, is a family club. You develop as a person as well as a footballer, and I give so much credit to Liverpool for the way they looked after me, all the time I was away. I’m forever grateful for that.

“It was an important period, really good for me, and it was a big reason I was able to develop into the player and the person I have. I remember telling my family that for sure Liverpool was going to win the league. And that year they went on to almost win everything.

“The training sessions, wow! I knew that this is the kind of training that you win something from! You don’t train like that and then at the end of the season you get nothing.”

What did Awoniyi say regarding his decision to leave?

On leaving Liverpool, Awoniyi said: “For me as a player, that was the kind of environment I had always wanted. But in life sometimes you have to make tough decisions, and I knew for me that I needed to go and play every week.

“You look at the time, there was [Mohamed] Salah, [Sadio] Mane, [Roberto] Firmino and others. I knew the chances [to play] were very, very slim. I knew I needed to get to a place where I was playing every week. It was hard [to leave], but it was a decision I had to make.”