'Not possible for us': Southampton exit ruled out, president admits he can't afford £12m fee

Given their predicament in the Premier League table, one suspects Russell Martin’s Southampton will be looking to add a centre-forward rather than lose one in the January transfer window.

No team in England’s top flight has fewer points [five] or goals [eleven] than a Saints side who, if they are to survive an immediate return to the Championship, feel like a team in need of a miracle.

Adam Armstrong and Cameron Archer have just four Premier League goals between them. Seldom-seen £10 million man Ross Stewart suffered a set-back which has kept him out since October.

And no sooner had Paul Onuachu finally forced his way into the Southampton XI, he was out of it again.

Few things sum up The Saints’ season better than Onuachu’s removal with 52 minutes on the clock during that 3-2 defeat by Liverpool at the end of November.

The £18 million giant of a centre-forward had led Arne Slot’s backline a merry dance until then – especially with one marvellous piece of skill in the first-half – but his afternoon was cut short just as Onuachu was finding his considerable stride.

Trabzonspor rule out January move for Southampton’s Paul Onuachu

Martin is hoping that Onuachu, after missing the last three matches, will be back in action sooner rather than later. He also insists that, nearly two years after his big-money arrival from KRC Genk, the 6ft 7ins Nigeria international will finally become a key player for The Saints going forward.

Some will argue it really should not have taken quite this long, of course.

Because, while Onuachu is hardly tailor-made for Martin’s possession based system given his reliance upon crosses into the penalty area, the well-travelled 30-year-old can point to a goalscoring record which speaks for itself.

He broke the 20-goal barrier twice in his final three seasons at Midtjylland. He scored 35 times in the 2020/21 campaign with Genk in Belgium.

And, during a loan spell at Trabzonspor last term, Onuachu returned to the South Coast after finding the net on 17 occasions in just 25 matches.

In an ideal world, Trabzonspor would have loved to turn Onuachu’s short-term deal into a permanent one.

Ertugrul Dogan, the Super Lig club’s president, confirmed that he made an offer of £7 million in the summer. Onuachu, he said, ‘really wanted’ the move. But with Southampton refusing to budge on their valuation of around £12 million, that was that.

And while speculation has re-emerged ahead of the January transfer window, Dogan insists that this is a deal Trabzonspor have no plans to revisit unless Southampton soften their stance considerably.

“At the beginning of the season, we made an offer for Paul Onuachu at the highest level we could,” Dogan explains, via Taka Gazete. “But his club did not accept this offer.

“There are certain realities of life and, right now, Trabzonspor is not in a position to make a transfer by paying a transfer fee of 15 million euros. Onuachu was happy at Trabzonspor, but it is not possible for us to make the transfer in line with these economic realities.”

Russell Martin wants to keep Onuachu at St Mary’s

Surprisingly, The Saints are yet to be mentioned in conjunction with any potential striker targets as 2025 hurtles into view. Southampton do like Werder Bremen midfielder Romano Schmid, however.

Peterborough winger Kwame Poku is another Saints target, though a potential three-month injury lay-off may put pay to those plans.

Martin, meanwhile, insists that Southampton have no plans to let Onuachu go in the New Year.

“I’m sure there will also be a few people kicking themselves that they clearly didn’t quite want him enough in the summer,” said the former Swansea City boss. “For me, if Paul is happy, we’re really happy.

“We want him here as he can help us achieve what we want to achieve this season.”