Belgian side Genk ‘had to let’ striker Paul Onuachu join Southampton in January thanks to a ‘personal agreement’ with the player.
That’s according to Voetbal Nieuws, who carry comments from former Belgian forward Stijn Stijnen on the move today.
Onuachu joined Southampton in an €18m deal at the end of the January transfer window as the Saints spent big in an attempt to bolster their squad to avoid relegation.
He arrived with a big reputation after his time at Genk, where he had managed 85 goals and ten assists in 134 games for the club.
He is yet to get anywhere close to replicating that at Southampton, where he has yet to score in eight games so far and has found himself playing a substitutes role at best, managing just 315 minutes of action.
It seems they were locked into the deal, though, with Stijnen claiming an agreement with Onuachu meant they had to sell.
“Genk had to let Onuachu go in January,” he said.
“That was due to a personal agreement with the player, but you did lose a player who was good for 30 goals every year. Then you have to remain realistic, and you can’t expect things to keep going as well afterwards.
“Racing Genk’s season is already a success, whatever happens in the play-offs. I don’t think Vrancken, and his staff should experience any pressure at all, because of that very decision to let Onuachu go in January.
“It allows them to manifest themselves in the play-offs without pressure and stress. And then a lot is possible. If not everything.”
