This is the story of Taiwo Awoniyi.
A proper center forward.
In 2022 Awoniyi signed for Nottingham Forest,
and in the process finally made it to the place he'd always wanted to be - the Premier League.
Way back in 2015, at the age of just 18, Awoniyi joined Liverpool.
But he was not granted a work permit to play in the UK.
That led a whistlestop tour of Europe, with 7 loan spells in 6 seasons.
An odyssey that toughened him up mentally.
Forest are Awoniyi's eighth club in eight years. But before all that, he was a boy with a dream growing up in Nigeria.
Here's how he became Taiwo Awoniyi.
Ilorin in the southwest of Nigeria: a city of more than a million people, in Africa's most populous nation.
On the 12th of August 1997, the son of a police officer was born here, along with his twin sister.
Taiwo is a unisex name, meaning the first twin to taste the world.
Awoniyi showed his talent early on, winning the under-17 World Cup with Nigeria in 2013.
He scored 4 goals at the tournament, including 3 in the knockouts, to help the Super Eagles to the title.
In 2015 Awoniyi won another youth tournament -- the under-20 African Cup of Nations.
With three goals, he again played his part in bringing the trophy home.
A few months later, he joined up with Liverpool. But his journey to the top was still just beginning.
He was immediately loaned out to German second division side FSV Frankfurt.
And the spell was not a fruitful one for Awoniyi. He scored just one goal in 13 league appearances.
To make matters worse, at the end of the season Frankfurt were relegated.
Awoniyi returned to Liverpool, but without a work permit, he had no prospects of playing in the Premier League.
Back in Nigeria, this is the Awoniyi family home.
Taiwo's mother Mary is doing her daily workout.
She remembers how her son got started with football, all those years ago.
Initially Taiwo's father Solomon had a totally different plan for his son's future career.
Taiwo got his way, and promised to give back to his parents once he had made a name for himself.
But in 2016 that still felt a long way away. Awoniyi was sent out on loan again, this time to Dutch side NEC.
Again, it didn't turn out well. He was even dropped to the under 21 side.
After again suffering relegation, in 2017 his third loan spell took him to a third European country,
in the form of Belgium, and Mouscron.
Finally Awoniyi was able to show some of his talent, scoring nine goals.
He remained in Belgium the following season, this time joining up with Gent,
which gave him a chance to perform on the big stage in the Europa League.
But he failed to score a single goal with the club, and the loan spell was cut short in the winter.
A return to Mouscron shook Awoniyi back to life.
He scored 11 goals in 16 games, but on his return to Liverpool in the summer, he still didn't have a work permit.
At his boyhood club in Ilorin, the Unicorn Football Academy,
Awoniyi's old pals were still waiting for their hero to make a splash in the Premier League.
But they knew he was stuck in a difficult situation.
Players from ouside Europe would only be eligible for a work permit in England if they played regularly for their national team.
But playing in a smaller league made it tougher for Awoniyi to get a call up for the Super Eagles.
A catch 22 for the young hopeful.
Fortunately, Awoniyi had learned all about discipline and motivation from his youth coach.
In 2019 though, Awoniyi's career still seemed up in the air. But he did earn a move to a bigger league finally.
He was loaned to Bundesliga side Mainz,
on the recommendation of Jürgen Klopp.
But again, he experienced a tough season, with just one goal in 12 appearances.
A full international cap, and with it the prospect of a work permit, looked far away.
In 2020, Awoniyi began his 7th loan spell since moving to Europe.
But this time, with Bundesliga upstarts Union Berlin, things finally clicked for the striker.
He scored 5 goals to help the East Berlin outfit to a stunning 7th place finish.
And that total could have been higher if it weren't for injuries.
Union were so convinced of Awoniyi's talent, they spent 8 and a half million euros to sign him outright.
No more loans -- finally Awoniyi felt at home.
And that was all he needed.
Awoniyi scored 15 goals in his second season at Union, to fire the club to the Europa League,
and also became a regular for the national team.
On top of all that 20 goals in 52 Bundesliga games made him Union's record top flight goalscorer.
Union gave Awoniyi what he needed, and the big man paid them back.
And of course, he's also given back to the woman who gave him a ball in the first place.
In summer 2022 Awoniyi finally begins his Premier League adventure at Nottingham Forest,
a club back in the top flight after 23 years away.
The sleeping giant, that won the 1979 and 1980 European Cups, has woken up.
Now on their return to the big stage, Taiwo Awoniyi will be leading the line.