Paul Onuachu has been backed to hit 20 league goals this season after getting his loan spell from Southampton with Trabzonspor “off to a perfect start”.
Former Turkish manager Fuat Cupa has been speaking about the striker to Het Belang van Limburg after he made a positive start to life in Turkey.
Onuachu made the move to Trabzonspor earlier this month after trying to find a way out of Southampton all summer.
He only joined the Saints in an €18m deal from KRC Genk in the January transfer window but endured a miserable spell at St Mary’s at the end of last season, failing to score or register an assist as Southampton were relegated to the Championship.
He was since left out of the picture by Saints boss Russel Martin this season and eventually got his move to Turkey on a season long loan deal.
He’s very much back in the groove of things early on, with two goals and an assist in his first two games for Trabzonspor in the league.
They’re more than happy with the deal so far and Cupa has now backed the 29-year-old to get back to his old self this season.
“You notice that he has hardly played football since January. He can’t handle playing for 90 minutes yet,” he said, in comments relayed by Voetbal Primeur.
“He got off to a perfect start. I saw both his matches. He immediately scored his first goal on his debut at home against Besiktas.
“He scored again against Hatayspor and also provided an assist. I see him scoring 20 times this season. He fits well in the Turkish league. We all know that he is a good striker who can record impressive statistics.
“I dare not predict that he will score fifty goals. But I can see him scoring twenty times. Onuachu fits well in the Turkish competition, which, like the Belgian competition, is quite physical. The pace is a little slower, but duelling power is more important.”
