Needing a new striker towards the end of January, Southampton decided to go after KRC Genk’s Paul Onuachu.
The striker had been lighting up the Jupiler Pro League for a few years now, and there was often talk of a move to the Premier League without any concrete ever happening. This time was different, however, as Southampton decided to spend €18m on the Nigeria international, only for him to struggle immensely after his arrival.
Over in Belgium, Genk started to struggle after he left, but their president has made it clear once again that they wouldn’t have done it, as Peter Croonen explained to RTBF.
He said: “We struggled after January, it’s a fact, but I don’t think it is, as I’m often told, because of the departure of Onuachu. With Paul’s transfer, we lost in statistics, but we also can’t predict what would have happened if he’d stayed. Besides, we continued to score as many goals as with Paul, but distributed them differently.
“We were simply less effective defensively by conceding more goals, but we have no regrets. The agreements with clear with Onuachu. When he renewed, he told us that his dream was to then join the Premier League. We stay consistent. We always take into account the desire of the player.”
Following his dream transfer, the forward never seemed to fully convince Ruben Selles, and Onuachu failed to score in any of his 11 appearances in the league, unable to help the Saints from avoiding the drop.
Southampton now will have a decision to make when it comes to the towering striker, as a sale or a loan away from St Mary’s might be beneficial for all, unless the 29-year-old is keen to try his luck in the Championship next season.
