SOUTHAMPTON’S £18M MAN IS ‘DEVASTATED’ AS SAINTS EXIT SUDDENLY FALLS THROUGH
According to Belgian writer Sacha Tavolieri, Paul Onuachu is “devastated” that his return to KRC Genk from Championship team Southampton fell through.
There will be no easy escape for another Jupiler League import falling down the pecking order at St Mary’s while Moussa Djenepo inches closer to returning to Standard Liege after Southampton accepted a £3 million deal for a player who has yet to make a single league game under Russell Martin.
Paul Onuachu only joined the team in January, spending £18 million.
The towering striker’s dream of playing in the Premier League quickly became a nightmare, though, as he failed to score a single goal and Southampton finished last in the standings. It’s difficult to assume that Onuachu anticipated that he would find himself at a lower-level Saints team by September after signing a significant contract eight months prior.
Paul Onuachu is imprisoned in Southampton.
Onuachu has yet to be selected for a single matchday squad by Martin. Additionally, the tall Nigerian international is preparing for the possibility of spending a further few months gathering cobwebs on the sidelines after plans to return to his former employers fell through.
“Confirmed. Onuachu’s transfer from Southampton to Genk is canceled, according to Tavolieri’s tweet. I was informed that the player was distraught.
It makes sense.
With 85 goals in 134 games, Onuachu had his best season of football at Genk. Only 35 of those arrived throughout the 2020–21 campaign. Since his
dep
arture, Genk lost the Jupiler League championship to Royal Antwerp by a single point and was eliminated from the Champions League qualifying matches by surprise packages Servette, the lack of dependable goal scorers in the post-Onuachu era being a frequent subject of worry.
Joseph Paintsil would have come to Southampton from Genk in a trade deal, and Onuachu would have gone the opposite way. However, attempts to reach an agreement were unsuccessful.
For the time being, Onuachu still has access to the Saudi Arabian and Turkish windows, which are still open.
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How Southampton have responded to recent heavy league defeats
SAINTS suffered a heavy 5-0 defeat on Saturday against Sunderland and Russell Martin will already be thinking about how his side can bounce back.
It was Southampton’s first defeat in the Championship this season and the humbling result came only a day after transfer deadline day.
This is the squad that Martin will need to work with up until January, but hopefully, this result will go down as a one-off.
The players who are not on international duty now have just under two weeks to prepare for Leicester City.
Turn the clock back 11 months and Saints were on the back of three straight Premier League defeats, as they made the daunting trip to face Manchester City. MANCHESTER CITY 4-0 SOUTHAMPTON – October 8 2022They were swept aside by the future treble winners as goals from Joao Cancelo, Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Erling Haaland sealed a 4-0 defeat.
There is no doubt that it was a difficult season for Saints on the pitch but the response to that loss was very encouraging – at the time.
Romain Perraud scored in a 1-1 draw with West Ham, which was followed by a 1-0 away victory against AFC Bournemouth – with Che Adams getting the goal.
A Stuart Armstrong equaliser ensured that Saints would then take a deserved point from title-chasing Arsenal, despite Granit Xhaka giving the Gunners a first-half lead.
Despite the positive form, a six-match losing streak followed and Saints were always up against it in terms of staving off relegation.
Southampton 1-1 West Ham United
AFC Bournemouth 0-1 Southampton
Southampton 1-1 Arsenal
SOUTHAMPTON 0-6 CHELSEA – April 9 2022
In April 2022, Hasenhuttl’s side were sitting just below mid-table in the Premier League as Chelsea were the visitors to St Mary’s.
The London club ran riot and were already 6-0 up after 54 minutes – the home crowd were fearful of a repeat of the 9-0 defeats to Leicester City and
Manchester United.
Saints managed to not concede in the remaining 35 minutes, but it was a demoralising afternoon as a whole. A week later, the mood could not have been more different.
Arsenal, who were chasing a top-four finish, were the visitors to the south-coast but a Jan Bednarek strike was all it took to seal all three points and all but seal Premier League status for another year.
Connor Roberts and Nathan Collins scored for Burnley in a 2-0 win over Southampton in the next fixture, so the encouraging feeling was short-lived.
Hasenhuttl’s side were then involved in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Brighton, which turned out to be their final point of the campaign. James Ward-Prowse scored twice.
Next three
Southampton 1-0 Arsenal
Burnley 2-0 Southampton
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Southampton
ASTON VILLA 4-0 SOUTHAMPTON – March 5 2022
A month prior, Saints were recovering from a 4-0 loss against Aston Villa. Former hero Danny Ings scored the fourth goal to rub salt in the wounds for the visitors at Villa Park.
A home game against Newcastle United gave Saints an opportunity to bounce back – but it was not to be.
Stuart Armstrong gave Southampton the lead before Chris Wood and a superb strike by Bruno Guimaraes turned the game on its head to seal a 2-1 win for the northeast club.
It was not that much better when Watford turned up to St Mary’s three days later, as Cucho Hernandez put the visitors into a two-goal advantage at the break.
Although Moi Elyounoussi pulled a goal back, Saints were not able to recover from the 2-1 deficit.
Ward-Prowse scored in a 1-1 draw against Leeds United at Elland Road in the game that followed.
Next three
Southampton 1-2 Newcastle United
Southampton 1-2 Watford
Leeds United 1-1 Southampton
Supporters can take some comfort in the knowledge that Saints have recent history of performing well when coming back from heavy losses.
However, Martin will want to make sure that heavy defeats do not become a pattern under his Saints tenure.
Only QPR and the three relegated sides from the Championship let in more than the 64 conceded by Martin’s Swansea City side last season.
Saints have already shipped four to Norwich, three against Gillingham in the EFL Cup and now five against Sunderland, while they have yet to keep a clean sheet in all competitions this season.
Early signs from this season tend to suggest that they will be fighting at the top end of the Championship.
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