Nigeria and KRC Genk gangling forward Paul Onuachu is simply grateful to be back on the beat scoring after a sluggish, injury-hit start to the Belgian Juliper Pro League. Last weekend, Onuachu took his tally to four goals in just 176 minutes, with a first-half winner during Genk’s 1-0 victory over Oud-Hevelen Leuven.
He was on the verge of leaving Belgium for England last year after notching over 63 goals in all competitions, but Wolves, the leading contender for his signature never did make up their mind.
At the time, Genk sporting director Dimitri De Conde, stunned by the striker’s form, gave up all hopes of keeping him at Genk. And even with another three years on Onuachu’s contract, he is well aware the 2021 Belgian Cup winners now face a battle to keep hold of him beyond this summer.
“He scores, he progresses, he has stability. But just thinking about his possible departure, generates stress.
“As a sporting director, I want to see him stay. That said, it may be the moment for him to leave. It is a complex issue.
“Everything will depend on the market. Maybe we’ll find a solution with him, an offer he’ll accept. But, if he can stay, I will do anything to seize it.”
HAPPY TO BE BACK
After scoring his third this season, the 6ft 7 Nigerian striker said he’s happy to be back and scoring. Wolves and transfer stories, he said are behind him now.
And if this sky-scraping, man-mountain of a center-forward wanted to show what Wolverhampton Wanderers were missing – the Premier League outfit have decided against bringing Onuachu to Molineux during the summer transfer window – then he’s certainly going about things in precisely the right way.
Four goals in three games. As many as Wolves’ entire squad have managed between them across 10 Premier League games so far this term. Suddenly, the chances of Onuachu matching his 23-goal tally from 2021/22 do not look quite so slim.
“To be honest, I am tired of talking about transfers,” said Onuachu. “Wolverhampton (showed an interest), but it didn’t materialise. They went for another. He apparently injured himself badly in his first match.
“The English transfer market had closed by then. So, they could only get free agents and ended up with Diego Costa. That’s football, eh.”
Sasa Kalajdzic, rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament after just one half of football in Wolves colours, is unlikely to be seen again this season. And with Raul Jimenez enduring fitness problems of his own, whoever takes Bruno Lage’s place on the Wolves bench – be it, Nuno Espirito Santo, Rob Edwards, Bo Svensson, or another candidate – will have little choice but to rest on the fading talents of a battle-scarred, 30-something Diego Costa as the Premier League’s lowest scorers look to claw their way up the table.
Wolves will be hoping that, like Onuachu, Diego Costa can prove that his class remains permanent.
“My candle was out. (But) I notice in myself that I am gradually getting back on track and that I am almost at 100 percent,” a re-energised Onuachu tells HLN after an admittedly rather-fortunate decider at Leuven’s Den Dreef ground.
“Everyone knows that the box is my natural habitat. But I also have to be present outside of it. That is getting better and better.”
DREAM TRANSFER
That, however, does not mean Onuachu is giving up on his dream of going to England.
He said Arsenal would remain in his head.
He admitted he is desperate to catch the eye of his beloved Gunners. The 11-cap Nigeria international recently labeled the Emirates as his ‘dream destination’ and longs to follow in the footsteps of his idols representing the club.
And in another interview, Onuachu told Sporza: “I really like Arsenal. Emmanuel Adebayor, one of the players I admired most, played there.
“I really was a fan of him, including Nwankwo Kanu. I really love watching Arsenal too.”
COMMITTED TO GENK
Onuachu said he’s committed to Genk and delighted about it. Conde is also delighted that the striker is still around. “We have seen some impressive performances from Paul, near-complete performances: always available to receive the ball, controlled on the ball, with a clear view of everything, technically excellent.
“He also showed that technique in his finish against Rapid. Junya Ito’s cross was great, but it still needed some work to turn it into a goal. The nudge just before contact, the control of the ball with an open left foot, and the arrow-like trajectory that the ball followed until it hit the net.”
PROFILE
Onuachu has scored 63 times in the colours of Genk and needed 78 games to reach the 50-goal landmark. He scored his goals in 41 different matches. And the goals have come in every possible manner. He has converted his tenth penalty as a Genkie. A perfect record from the spot: 10 out of 10 went in in various forms. The 40 non-penalty goals have also been nicely distributed. Paul has scored 17 times with his head, 13 with his right foot, and 10 with his left. Clever and hard, curled or placed, chipped, dinked or deflected, subtle, dextrous, or just cool and efficient. No better proof of what a complete goal machine Onuachu is.
The goal in Vienna was his second in a European match, after his goal at home against Shakhtar in the Champions League qualifying round. Apart from that, Paul has scored most of his goals in the league (9 + 29 + 3 = 41 goals). He has scored 4 times in the playoffs, and 3 in the cup. Onuachu played a total of 5818 minutes. He has scored every 116 minutes since arriving at Genk.
ANTWERP
Looking at the teams where Onuachu has had the most success, we can see that Antwerp is his favourite opponent, with six goals in six encounters. Whilst he has scored five against both KV Oostende and Eupen. In all, Paul has already got on the scoresheet against 17 different teams. Home or away, he doesn’t care about that either. In Genk stadium, Onuachu has scored 28 goals in 21 different games, and he’s managed 26 in 20 games away from home. It’s amazing how similar his records are.