Southampton are expected to sanction the exit of another senior squad member, and a fresh report has revealed how quickly the departure is likely to take place.
Who is leaving Southampton?
On the south coast, Sport Republic have already completed the permanent sales of James Ward-Prowse, Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, Nathan Tella, Mohammed Salisu, Moussa Djenepo and Mislav Orsic over the summer, whilst also giving the green light for both Armel Bella-Kotchap and Duje Caleta-Car to go out on loan, as per Transfermarkt.
Russell Martin’s side have made a promising start to life in the Championship having won three, drawn one and lost just one of their opening five games, but one of the players who is yet to make his mark in the second tier and therefore could be the next on his way out is Paul Onuachu.
This season, Nigeria’s international is yet to make a single appearance in the league, so whilst he still has another three years remaining on his contract, his lack of game time shows just how out of favour he is and he will know that the only way he can increase the minutes he’s getting under his belt is by sealing a departure.
The St. Mary’s outfit also already have Che Adams, Adam Armstrong, Sekou Mara and the recently signed Ross Stewart from Sunderland in the building, so the chance of the attacker getting a look in over the remainder of the campaign seems highly unlikely.
Is Paul Onuachu leaving Southampton?
According to Turkish outlet Fanatik (via Sport Witness), Trabzonspor have made contact with Southampton to enquire about a deal to sign Onuachu, with the Turkish window open until next weekend.
The Super Lig outfit are “looking for a striker” and have turned their attention towards the Saints star having previously failed to reach an agreement for Fulham’s Carlos Vinicius.
Championship chiefs paid €18m (£15.4m) for their prized asset so the chances of him being permanently sold are “slim to none”, but the option of sending him out on loan is definitely on the table.
Martin’s attacker “wants to play” on a more regular basis so he would be “happy to go” overseas, and it’s stated that the deal is “expected to be finalised this week”.
How good is Paul Onuachu?
When Nathan Jones recruited Onuachu, Southampton’s former manager dubbed him a “significant signing” considering the money he cost, but having failed to live up to expectations, Sport Republic and Martin sanctioning his departure would be completely the right decision, regardless of if it was permanently or a loan.
The Owerri native has recorded zero goals or assists since putting pen to paper and ranked as the club’s 19th best-performing player out of 36 squad members last season, via WhoScored, so he isn’t really bringing anything positive to the side when given the opportunity to play and showcase what potential he has to offer.
Furthermore, Onuachu is currently pocketing £30k-per-week which is a lot for a second tier team to be cashing out on a fringe player, so the clu need to get him off the books as soon as possible and put his salary towards generating funds for fresh faces in January.
