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Club urged to sign £12m-rated Southampton ace in January as he can save their season
As the hand-wringing continues regarding Southampton’s attacking options, Russell Martin’s Saints are not the only side suffering from the lack of reliable goalscorers.
The Saints have scored only four Premier League goals since promotion. No side has hit the target with less frequency.
Cameron Archer, netting as Southampton lost 3-1 to a resurgent Arsenal last time out, is the only one of Martin’s strikers to have got themselves on the scoresheet as the departure of Che Adams to Torino becomes increasingly painful by the week.
Now, whether the re-called Paul Onuachu proves to be the answer to Southampton’s prayers, only time will tell.
Arguably through necessity rather than desire, Martin handed the 6ft 9ins targetman his first appearance for the South Coast club in over a year off the bench at the Emirates.
Now, it’s fair to say Onuachu has been a little starved of chances in every sense of the word since that £18 million move to England back in January 2023.
But, while a throwback targetman is not really Martin’s style, the Nigeria international’s CV does suggest that he could go a long way to solving Southampton’s woes in the final third if his towering strengths are utilised correctly.
Trabzonspor struggling as Paul Onuachu returns to Southampton plans
Onuachu was prolific at Midtyjlland and at Genk, scoring 35 goals in one of his seasons with the Belgian giants. During a loan spell in Turkey last term, Onuachu plundered 17 in 22 Trabzonspor outings.
And, if the opening weeks of 2024/25 is anything to by, Trabzonspor might need Onuachu now as much as Southampton do.
Because, with the late-blooming number nine returning to St Mary’s due to Trabzonspor’s inability to finance a permanent deal, Senol Gunes’ side have looked very much like a team shorn of their star centre-forward.
With good reason, of course.
Trabzonspor may be unbeaten in the Turkish Super Lig but six of their seven outings has ended in a draw. The Black Sea outfit are averaging only one goal per game too.
“Trabzonspor has been a complete disappointment this season,” reporter Erdogan Bekar writes in the , arguing that Gunes’ side would have been better off cashing in on two or three first-teamers in order to meet Southampton’s asking price.
“Last season, the team’s biggest trump card was Paul Onuachu. He was the one who carried the team on his back in many matches.
“Now, we can’t help but wonder if it would have been better if three or four players had been transferred and Onuachu had been brought in instead.”
Trabzonspor urged to bring Onuachu back to Turkey in January
Bekar argues that, if Onuachu was still around, Trabzonspor would still be in European competition while looking to build on last season’s third place finish.
Instead, they crashed out of the Conference League in the qualification phase and already stand 13 points adrift of league leaders Galatasaray.
“I claim that, if Onuachu had been in this team, we would have been in the European cups right now and we would have won at least two more games in the league,” Bekar adds, demanding that Trabzonsor try again for the striker in January.
“Paul Onuachu needs to be brought into the team. Otherwise, this team will not be able to raise its head from the bottom ranks.”
Southampton boss Russell Martin cannot speak highly enough of Onuachu’s performances on the training pitch. Whether that can be translated onto the Premier League stage, only time will tell.
Trabzonspor president Ertogrul Dogan admitted that he had offered around £5 million for Onuachu over the summer. Southampton, however, were refusing to budge on their £12 million valuation for a player who could yet – belatedly – be worth every penny of his transfer fee to The Saints.