“He’s a different beast”- Southampton boss Russell Martin makes shock admission about Paul Onuachu amid exit talks

Southampton boss Russell Martin has praised Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu following his performance in a pre-season encounter against Getafe, Soccernet.ng reports.

Onuachu’s next move has dominated the Saints’ transfer talks this summer because of his struggles at the club. The Super Eagles striker joined Southampton from Genk in January 2023, but he had a tough start to life at the club as his game time was heavily limited and they eventually got relegated that season.

Last season, it was clear that Onuachu was not going to get minutes at Southampton, and he had to leave for Turkish club Trabzonspor.

In Turkey, the 30-year-old striker registered 17 goals and four assists in 24 appearances, and that impressed Trabzonspor. Hence, they have been in talks with Southampton over signing Onuachu permanently.

However, both parties have not reach a compromise, as Trabzonspor are unwilling to pay Southampton’s €13 million valuation. Meanwhile, Onuachu has been training at Southampton since the start of pre-season, but he did not feature in any of their games until Saturday when he was introduced as a substitute in their game against Getafe.

The game ended goalless as Onuachu failed to find the net in his 17 minutes of action, but coach Martin was quite impressed with what he saw.

“He’s a different Paul to the one I came across last season in terms of confidence. I think the last pre-season was so difficult for so many of them,” Martin said, per Daily Echo.

“They hadn’t had a chance in the Premier League or they’d come in January and not really taken to it that well.

“This summer he’s a different beast and whilst he’s here, same as Kyle Walker-Peters, we will try and utilise him.

If Martin’s words are anything to go by, Onuachu may still have a slim shot of playing Premier League football at Southampton next season.