“He wants to stay” – Trabzonspor President drops transfer update on Super Eagles striker

President of Turkish Süper Lig side, Trabzonspor, has given a transfer update suggesting Paul Onuachu could continue his stay at the club, Soccernet.ng reports.

The 30-year-old striker joined the Turkish side on a season-long loan after his parent club, Southampton were relegated from the English Premier League.

After an impressive season with Trabzonspor, the club President, Ertuğrul Doğan, revealed they’re in talks with Southampton over a possible transfer that will see the 2.01m tall striker stay in Turkey.

“Paul Onuachu said that he wanted to stay with us and our team during his meeting with us and our coach. The player also submitted this request to his parent club. We want to hire him, and the negotiations are ongoing. We also have alternatives to Santrafor. There’s no such thing as just getting a striker, maybe we’ll get two. Again, we want to have him on our side, but it seems the transfer will take a while,” the President said in quotes revealed by Turkish outlet, 61saat.

Paul Onuachu, who played 25 games for Trabzonspor in the just-concluded season, scored 17 goals and provided four assists, earning him a spot ahead of Victor Boniface in Finidi George’s Super Eagles starting eleven that played a 1-1 draw against South Africa.

According to GivemeSport, Southampton are prepared to make a considerable loss on Onuachu as they paid £18m to secure his services from Genk in the winter transfer window of 2023. The Saints are willing to entertain offers worth half that price this summer.

However, the former Midtjylland striker might not have his wish to permanently join Trabzonspor as Southampton wants to completely have the Nigerian off their books while the Turkish side would prefer to have him on another loan, hinting at uncertainty over where he will be plying his trade next term.

In twelve games for Southampton, Onuachu was unable to find the back of the net, and he left the St Mary’s stadium after just seven months.