'Chance of a lifetime': Director says Southampton star 'begged me in tears' to agree £18m transfer

Southampton’s £18 million man is, lets be honest, pretty atypical compared to your usual Premier League footballer.

And not just because of his build – he would give Peter Crouch a run for his money – but for the route he has taken into English football.

A relative late bloomer, Paul Onuachu arrived at St Mary’s back in January 2023 aged 28. What’s more, this was his first stab at a major European league.

Southampton’s giant centre-forward won a Golden Boot in Belgium and had scored goals for fun in Denmark too. But never before had Onuachu been tested against some of the finest centre-halves club football has to offer.

Two years on, Onuachu is still awaiting his first Southampton goal. A duck he will be desperate to break when he makes his 20th appearance for The Saints, potentially when Southampton face Ange Postecoglou’s out-of-sorts Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday night.

But the narrative surrounding the 6ft 7ins Nigeria international is not one of an expensive flop. More a talented centre-forward who has not really been set up to succeed by a team who don’t really play to his strengths.

Paul Onuachu ‘begged’ Genk to agree Southampton transfer

Onuachu was outstanding, even without finding the net, as Southampton ran Liverpool close at St Mary’s, one remarkable piece of skill enough on it’s own to spark cult hero status.

After a brief spell out injured, the now-30-year-old Onuachu should be available up against a Spurs backline shorn of Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies.

Genk director Dimitri de Conde, meanwhile, puts Onuachu in an XI of the best players he worked with at the Belgian league leaders. Understandably so, given that the former Midtjylland powerhouse netted no fewer than 85 goals across just four-and-a-half seasons.

“[Onuachu is in my team] for his statistics, his goals, his Golden Boot, and his kindness!,” De Conde explains to RTBF.

It is no secret that a move to the Premier League was something of a lifetime ambition for Onuachu. After mooted transfers to the likes of Wolves and Aston Villa failed to materialise, he jumped at the chance to put pen to paper even with a Southampton side battling in vain against an inevitable relegation.

“People always talk to me about [selling] Onuachu, but we have to put it in the context of the time,” De Conde recalls. “Paul was 28 years old. He absolutely wanted to leave because it was the chance of a lifetime, for a contract that would not come back a second time.

“He begged me in tears to let him go. And, in these cases, we no longer talk about money or the interest of the club. We will never block a deal: we always prioritise the human and the choice of the player.”

Genk now face a Fulham battle for Tolu Arokodare

De Conde claims that Genk will not force a player to stay against their will. But, with Fulham keeping an eye on Tolu Arokodare, the director is obviously keen to avoid a repeat of 2023.

Genk missed out on the title on the final day that season after selling Onuachu mid-campaign. Two years on, Genk are top of the league again. Arokodare, with ten goals and three assists from 17 starts, is on track for the Golden Boot.

“The group of players knows that we want to keep everyone together,” De Conde told TVL earlier this month. “There is no agreement with any player that we will cooperate with a transfer in January if a good offer comes in, which has been the case in the past.

“Tolu may not leave. He is also very grateful to our coach and will not leave [coach Thorsten] Fink and Genk just like that.”

Onuachu, meanwhile, scored 17 goals on loan at Trabzonspor last term.

The Super Lig outfit would love to have him back. But, this week, Trabzonspor president Ertugrul Dogan explained that Southampton’s £12 million asking price for Onuachu is simply too high.