DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

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Enugu II
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DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by Enugu II »

Although this is just a rumor. We know West Ham has denied any link to such a deal. BUT STILL?.......
Who is Paul Onuachu? From ‘scrawny teenager’ to £20m star, meet the 6’7 Genk striker linked with West Ham
The Nigeria international has emerged on the radar of big clubs after scoring 42 goals in 48 league games since the start of last season
RC Genk's Nigerian forward Ebere Paul Onuachu celebrates after scoring during the UEFA Europa League Group H football match between Rapid Vienna and RC Genk in Vienna on September 16, 2021. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP) (Photo by JOE KLAMAR/AFP via Getty Images)
https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/paul ... ts-1250056
By Oliver Young-Myles
October 20, 2021 5:29 pm(Updated 5:30 pm)


Fresh from steering West Ham to the club’s highest Premier League finish in 22 years last season, David Moyes expanded a thin squad to better cope with the rigours of European football, adding competition in goal, upgrades in defence and variation in midfield during the summer.

To the surprise of supporters, though, he elected against making reinforcements in attack, leaving Michail Antonio as the club’s only established centre-forward – and a converted one at that. Moyes espoused the benefits of waiting for the right striker to come along, rather than buying someone for the sake of it. He, like the club, is eager to avoid a repeat of the costly Sebastian Haller mistake, no matter the Frenchman’s eye-catching exploits with Ajax in the Champions League since leaving the London Stadium.

Sound as that logic may be, it has left West Ham light in a key area of the pitch. Had circumstances been different, the prolific Nigeria striker Paul Onuachu might have been lining up for West Ham in the Europa League on Thursday night rather than against them for Genk. The 6ft 7in frontman was linked with a move to east London in the transfer window, but ultimately, a move did not come to fruition.

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Since the start of the 2020-21 season, Onuachu has emerged as one of the most prolific forwards in European football, plundering 42 goals in 48 games in Belgium’s Jupiler Pro League. Such proficiency has seen the former FC Midtjylland star emerge on the radar of big clubs, including Spurs, Southampton, Atletico Madrid and Borussia Dortmund and also jostle for position in a talented Nigeria frontline, featuring Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho and Napoli’s record signing, Victor Osimhen.

“It has been really fantastic to see his development and how he has taken on this challenge because it’s not always easy going away from Midtjylland,” Tim Sparv, Onuachu’s former captain at the Danish club, tells i. “It is a comfortable and safe environment for a young player. I think he’s adapted really well to Belgium where the demands are maybe a little bit tougher and it’s nice to see he has taken it in his stride.”

Onuachu spent the first seven years of his professional career at Midtjylland, arriving as a scrawny but determined teenager from FC Ebedei, the club’s feeder academy in Nigeria. Brentford’s box-to-box midfield player Frank Onyeka made the same move from southwest Nigeria to the Jutland region which straddles the border between Denmark and Germany.

Paul Onuachu’s CV
Midtjylland (2012-19):

Apps: 181
Goals: 74
Vejle Boldklub (loan 14-15):

Apps: 13
Goals: 5
Genk (2019-present):

Apps: 84
Goals: 56
Nigeria (2019-present):

Apps: 15
Goals: 3


“We’ve been working in Nigeria for 15 years and have some very good partners there,” Midtjylland’s sporting director Svend Graversen explains. “At that time, we were looking for attackers who had the physicality for European football and Paul caught our attention. We brought him to the academy when he was 18 and worked with him until he was ready for the first-team.”

Onuachu’s goalscoring record at Midtjylland was impressive but not remarkably so. In total, he netted 74 goals in 181 games and although he played an important part in the club’s 2017-18 Danish Superliga title success, he never managed more than 17 league goals in a campaign. That it wasn’t until 2019 that he secured his €9m (£7.5m) is a giveaway that it took longer than anticipated for him to start fulfilling his potential.


“Now he’s a proven goalscorer which he wasn’t when he played with us,” Graversen admits. “That was something that we worked hard on but maybe now we are seeing the effort because it took some time before he cracked the code. We would have liked to have unlocked his potential before. If he had scored more goals in the Danish Superliga we might have been paid a bit more!”

Sparv agrees: “He wanted to get away from Denmark at some point and play in the bigger leagues, he was hungry for something bigger than FC Midtjylland. It maybe took him a bit of time to figure out what professional football is all about. When I see him play now he’s more mature, he’s stronger, he’s deadly in the box and has become a proper striker.”

Both Sparv and Graversen are in agreement that he now has what it takes to make the next step up to a bigger league. Genk reportedly value him in the region of £20m.

“I can definitely see Paul in one of the top five leagues, that’s for certain, I think he has that X-factor,” Sparv says. “He’s tall, uses his body well, is fantastic in the air, great at attacking and defending set-pieces. I think he has something that a lot of Premier League clubs would look at and think this guy could thrive here and you can’t say that about everyone.”


“For sure, he’s ready to take the next step,” Graversen adds. “I think he was ready last year. The mentality he has is what clubs in those big leagues are looking for.”

With other clubs beginning to circle, West Ham might come to rue not moving for him sooner.
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by gochino »

I watched his last game in the UEFA cup and was surprised . Most of the things I read about him here are not actually true. He was good with his feet and linked up really well with the Midfield. I would be watching him today against Westham, that should be an interesting one.
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by Damunk »

gochino wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:52 am I watched his last game in the UEFA cup and was surprised . Most of the things I read about him here are not actually true. He was good with his feet and linked up really well with the Midfield. I would be watching him today against Westham, that should be an interesting one.
He will really be under the spotlight tonight.
I hope he delivers. Not necessarily score but deliver a great all-round performance.
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA »

gochino wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:52 am I watched his last game in the UEFA cup and was surprised . Most of the things I read about him here are not actually true. He was good with his feet and linked up really well with the Midfield. I would be watching him today against Westham, that should be an interesting one.

The likes of Maceo have been doing a hit job on Onuachu all over the Internet but the boy continues to go about his business scoring goals and serving pie. I'd love to see him on a team like Brentford, imho the hardest working team in football. They'd serve him well. :thumb:
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Otitokoro
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by Otitokoro »

Prof,
Is this another edition of the 'Paul Onuachu to sign for a big club' chronicles?
I thought we already rode this merry-go-round last season?
Enugu II wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:28 am Although this is just a rumor. We know West Ham has denied any link to such a deal. BUT STILL?.......
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by Bigpokey24 »

people like VE, damunk, kongi,etc aka ****bots( actually mace has changed his views on Paul) are the ones spreading false info about Paul.. dude is Legit.. I do rate him highly
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by maceo4 »

Bigpokey24 wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:47 pm people like VE, damunk, kongi,etc aka ****bots( actually mace has changed his views on Paul) are the ones spreading false info about Paul.. dude is Legit.. I do rate him highly
I still have my views on him, but do want to see if I'm wrong and he can cut it in a top 5 league. There shouldn't be any debate that the Belgian league is not such great shakes...
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by Flex Swift »

The BBC are reporting that Tottenham have joint several other clubs interested in Onauchu. So tonight it’s going to be Obinna vs Onauchu
Last edited by Flex Swift on Thu Oct 21, 2021 7:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by vancity eagle »

Bigpokey24 wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:47 pm people like VE, damunk, kongi,etc aka ****bots( actually mace has changed his views on Paul) are the ones spreading false info about Paul.. dude is Legit.. I do rate him highly
What false info?

Dude has stunk up the joint for SE as a starter. His style of play does not suit SE.

I dont care if he scores a million goals on the moon.
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA »

vancity eagle wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:12 pm
Bigpokey24 wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:47 pm people like VE, damunk, kongi,etc aka ****bots( actually mace has changed his views on Paul) are the ones spreading false info about Paul.. dude is Legit.. I do rate him highly
What false info?

Dude has stunk up the joint for SE as a starter. His style of play does not suit SE.

I dont care if he scores a million goals on the moon.
But the likes of Al Hassan and Nwobodo are good enough for SE according to you. You need help.
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Re: DISCUSS: Paul ONUACHU'S Rumored EPL Interest

Post by vancity eagle »

EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 7:43 pm
vancity eagle wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 6:12 pm
Bigpokey24 wrote: Thu Oct 21, 2021 3:47 pm people like VE, damunk, kongi,etc aka ****bots( actually mace has changed his views on Paul) are the ones spreading false info about Paul.. dude is Legit.. I do rate him highly
What false info?

Dude has stunk up the joint for SE as a starter. His style of play does not suit SE.

I dont care if he scores a million goals on the moon.
But the likes of Al Hassan and Nwobodo are good enough for SE according to you. You need help.
Yes those two would be perfect options up top. :glare:

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