Onuachu May Force Move Out Of Southampton To Genk

Onuachu May Force Move Out Of Southampton To Genk

Ibrahim Lateef 

Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu may be left with the option of forcing a move away from relegated Premier League Southampton if he intends to play top flight football before the summer transfer window closes, BSNSports.com.ng has scooped.

Recruited by Nathan Jones who played a more direct style, Onuachu found himself with a new manager in Ruben Selles just a few weeks later, and he didn't really fit into the Spaniard's system.

In his 11 Premier League appearances last season, Onuachu failed to score as the south coast club went down with a whimper - the £15.8 million spent to prize him away from Genk appears to have been wasted.

Onuachu signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Southampton when arriving in February, meaning he is under contract until 2016 at St Mary's Stadium.

Genk boss Wouter Vrancken confirmed this past week that he would be happy to see the 29-year-old return to the Cegeka Arena to bolster his attack, but stated a deal might be complicated due to the price that Southampton may want for the target man.

After signing for Genk in 2019 from FC Midtjylland in Denmark, Onuachu scored 85 goals in 134 matches which led to his switch to England - but his form in 2023 hasn't put other potential buyers off.

It has been claimed that clubs in Germany, Turkey and Saudi Arabia - some of them who are playing in the UEFA Champions League this season - have Onuachu on their radar, and they are joined by his former club Genk.

Genk - Director of Football Dimitri De Conde - has also been quizzed on the matter, and he believes as well that striking a deal with the Championship outfit will be difficult to do.

“If we want a player with such market value from an English club, we will never be in control there," De Conde told Het Belang van Limburg.

" Only when the player and the club leave an opening can we take action.

“It has to be someone who has already scored his goals at a certain level.

"If you exclude exceptions such as Haaland, you quickly end up with players of at least 23 years old.”

It appears that Genk will be looking for Onuachu to force a move back to his former club as that may be the only way that the two teams can come to a financial compromise as they will not be able to afford his full salary or a significant transfer fee.