KRC Genk chairman Peter Croonen has told Het Belang van Limburg that he didn’t want to sell Paul Onuachu to Southampton.
The striker was a standout player for the Jupiler Pro League side and scored 17 goals from 22 games in the first half of last season. This convinced the Saints to sign him in January 2023.
Genk reportedly collected €21m from the 29-year-old’s sale to Southampton.
The Belgian club’s chairman has been talking about the need to find a balance between the club’s finances and sporting goals. He mentioned this when explaining the sales carried out by Genk in the winter market.
“This involves a kind of risk management in January: the greater the chance of a prize, the more risk you can take by not making an outgoing transfer,” he said.
The newspaper points out that the Nigeria international was sold to Southampton at a time when the Belgian club were leading the table and had a good chance of qualifying for the Champions League this season.
Despite this, Genk decided to cash in from the frontman’s sale to the English club.
On this topic, Croonen explained: “We wouldn’t have made that transfer if there had been no agreement with the player and he had not insisted so strongly on it.
“On the other hand, you have to be realistic: it was only because of that extra income that our budget ultimately remained balanced last season.”
Onuachu wasn’t able to replicate his Genk form at Southampton and was allowed to join Trabzonspor on loan last summer.
He’s managed nine goals and three assists this season and recent claims have stated the Turkish club want to negotiate a deal with the Championship side to retain Onuachu.
