Southampton striker Paul Onuachu has been linked with a return to former club Genk – with winger Joseph Paintsil potentially coming in the other direction.
According to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Belgian side Genk have approached Southampton over a potential deal for Onuachu, who would like to return to the side that Southampton bought him from in January, for a reported fee of £18.6 million.
‘The Smurfs’, as they are known in Belgium, are proposing a swap deal for Onuachu, with their winger Paintsil heading to St Mary’s.
Onuachu has been linked with leaving the south coast all summer, with the Nigerian international being linked with teams such as Stuttgart, Augsburg and Union Berlin of Germany, Galatasaray in Turkey and Al-Taawoun of Saudi Arabia.
Will Southampton regret letting Paul Onuachu go?
It is more than likely, Southampton will have to take a loss on Onuachu. If he goes back to Genk it is highly unlikely they would be able to afford to pay anywhere near what Southampton paid them for him back in January, with Genk’s record transfer fee only being €7 million.
On the pitch, however, Southampton will not miss him. The Saints have plenty of striking options, with the likes of Che Adams, Adam Armstrong and Sekou Mara. Adams and Armstrong in particular are experienced and prolific in their careers at Championship level to date, whilst Mara is unproven but has plenty of potential to be something special.
It also appears that Russell Martin looks to play with just one striker starting upfront, so you could say that with Onuachu in the squad alongside the other aforementioned strikers, this position could use a departure or two.
Martin has also not included Onuachu in both matchday squads in the Championship so far this season, however, he did come off the bench in Saints’ 3-1 defeat away at Gillingham in the Carabao Cup last week.
Will Joseph Painstil be a good addition for Southampton?
Potentially coming in the other direction is winger Joseph Paintsil. The 25-year-old is predominantly a right winger, but can also play on the left and through the middle in attacking midfield.
The Ghanaian had a sensational season last year, getting 28 goal contributions (including a few assists for Onuachu in 36 games as Genk finished second in the Belgian Pro League, despite winning the regular season.
Paintsil clearly has undoubted quality, and a player like that may be too good for Southampton to turn down, should he wish to join.
Southampton do currently possess a number of options on the wing, with the likes of Nathan Tella, Samuel Edozie, Moussa Djenepo and Samuel Amo-Ameyaw all being good options at this level. However, this is Amo-Ameyaw’s first season coming through, and with Djenepo playing more as a left-back recently, there is definitely room for another winger in the squad.
However, attacking options are not a priority right now, with Southampton already scoring six goals in their opening two Championship games so far, which makes his former teammate Onuachu surplus to requirements.
They also only seem to be looking at defenders at the moment, having been linked with signing Mason Holgate and Zak Vyner.