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Trabzonspor have ‘started to take decisive steps’ to sign Paul Onuachu from Southampton on a permanent basis, with two scenarios for a transfer put forward.

That’s according to Gunebakis, who say the club’s managers are ‘very pleased’ with his performances this season and are aiming to keep him next year.

Onuachu has rediscovered his goalscoring form since joining Trabzonspor on loan from Southampton last year, with nine goals and three assists in 16 games so far.

Manager Abdullah Avci is similarly pleased with what he has gotten from the striker, particularly how he has integrated into the team so far.

Trabzonspor would like to sign him on a permanent basis but feel Southampton may demand a high fee for him given they paid big to get him from Genk in January last year.

Thus an agreement may be difficult to reach, particularly as Turkish sides are often reluctant to spend their money, and so a loan deal could be looked at again instead.

It also all depends on Southampton and what happens with them. If they are promoted back to the Premier League they may with to keep Onuachu to bolster their squad.

If they cannot, Onuachu has made it clear he won’t play in the Championship and so some sort of deal will need to be worked out.

The player, for his part, is happy at Trabzonspor and has expressed this openly, which may play a role in negotiations between the two clubs too.

They have a good relationship after the deal for the striker and Mislav Orsic’s move too, so the pieces are there to find another agreement, even if there is a disagreement on a transfer fee.