Southampton manager Russell Martin was of praise for Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu after his performance against La Liga side Getafe in a pre-season match.
Speculation has been constant all through the summer about the future of the 30 year-old, with recent talk of him possibly completing a permanent transfer to Turkish Superlig club Trabzonspor.
The Nigerian international striker joined Trabzonspor on loan last season following Southampton’s relegation from the Premier League in the 2022/2023 campaign after joining the South coast club in last year’s January transfer window from Belgian side Genk in an £18.6 million transfer.
Onuachu struggled after his arrival in England and was unable to score a goal in 12 appearances with Southampton.
It became clear he would have limited game time with Southampton last season and therefore had to move to Trabzonspor.
In Turkey, Onuachu regained his confidence and had a stellar campaign with the Turkish side, registering 17 goals and 4 assists from 26 matches in all competitions which saw Trabzonspor want to keep him permanently at the club.
However, both clubs were unable to reach an agreement as Trabzonspor were unwilling to meet Southampton’s €10 million valuation and decided to pursue a transfer for Burnley’s Netherlands international striker Wout Weghorst.
Onuachu had been training at Southampton since the start of pre-season but did not feature in any of their games until Saturday when he was introduced as a substitute in the match against Getafe.
In a 17-minute appearance, Onuachu was unable to score in the game which ended goalless but manager Martin was quite impressed with what he saw.
“I just think he’s different to what we have. He’s trained really, really well”, Martin stated in an interview with the Daily Echo.
“He’s a different Paul to the one I came across last season in terms of confidence. I think the last pre-season was so difficult for so many of them.
“They hadn’t had a chance in the Premier League or they’d come in January and not really taken to it that well.
“This summer he’s a different beast and whilst he’s here, same as Kyle Walker-Peters, we will try and utilise him”, Martin insisted.
The manager’s comments suggest that the towering striker may still have a chance of playing Premier League football at Southampton this upcoming season.
The Saints begin their league campaign with a visit to Newcastle United on Saturday, the 17th of August – with Onuachu and Sekou Mara their only fit number nines.
