Onuachu missing, Aribo benched, Ugochukwu debuts as Manchester United crush Southampton

Lesley Ugochukwu made his Southampton debut on Saturday, but it was far from a memorable outing as the Saints were comfortably beaten 3-0 by Manchester United, Soccernet.ng reports.

Ugochukwu, who joined Southampton on loan from Chelsea in August, played for 64 minutes but couldn’t prevent his side from slipping to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat.

Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt opened the scoring for the Red Devils in the 35th minute, with Marcus Rashford doubling the lead soon after. Argentine forward Alejandro Garnacho came off the bench to seal the result in stoppage time.

While Ugochukwu would have hoped for a better debut, Nigerian midfielder Joe Aribo will be frustrated by his lack of involvement.

The 28-year-old Super Eagles star, who has started all three of Southampton’s previous league games this season, was left on the bench by manager Russell Martin.

Aribo had impressed in his first three appearances of the campaign, completing 107 successful passes, making two tackles, two interceptions, and creating three chances. However, he has yet to contribute a goal or assist so far this season.

Paul Onuachu’s situation, though, is even more concerning.

The Nigerian striker has not featured for Southampton this season and was not named in the squad for the Manchester United clash, despite being included in the Saints’ Premier League roster.

Onuachu spent the summer trying to engineer a move back to Trabzonspor, where he had a successful loan spell last season.

However, a permanent transfer failed to materialise before the Turkish transfer window closed on Friday night.

With the move falling through, Onuachu faces the prospect of being on the fringes at Southampton for the remainder of the season, unless a dramatic turnaround occurs in his situation.

Manager Russell Martin, meanwhile, is under increasing pressure as Southampton’s poor start continues, with the club yet to register a win in the Premier League this season. He could be among the first managers to lose their job if results don’t improve soon.