Transfer: Southampton, Genk still talking about potential swap deal for Onuachu
Southampton and Belgian club Genk are still in talks over a potential swap deal that would see giant Nigerian centre-forward Paul Onuachu return to the Cegeka Arena, according to reports.
Onuachu was one of the most in-form centre-forwards in European football during his time in Belgium, especially in the 2020/21 campaign where he bagged 35 goals in 41 games in all competitions, with 33 coming in the league. This is a record for the Belgian Pro League.
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Over the course of three and a half seasons with Genk, the Nigeria international scored 85 times and earned a whopping £18.6 million move to Premier League strugglers Southampton in the hopes of turning their fortunes around.
Unfortunately, Onuachu has never got going with the Saints and has yet to score a single goal since joining the club in January 2023, featuring twelve times in total across three separate managers.
It was reported last week by journalist Sacha Tavolieri that Southampton were working on a swap deal with Genk which would see Onuachu head back to the club where he excelled. Meanwhile, the deal would see Ghanaian winger Joseph Paintsil head over to the English South Coast.
The saga went quiet for eight days, prompting Tavolieri to add last night that any potential move was ‘not totally over’.
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Painstil had an excellent individual campaign last season, scoring 17 goals and registering 11 assists and now could be on his way to the St. Mary’s Stadium should a swap deal come to fruition.
Paintsil is an incredibly exciting player and was one of the highest-output performers in Belgium’s top-flight last term.
This deal makes sense given Onuachu’s struggle for minutes at Southampton and to adapt to English football, although there will be a question mark over whether Paintsil will fare any better than his former Genk teammate who will be going in the opposite direction.