How much it has cost Southampton FC for every Paul Onuachu goal scored as "problem" claim raised | OneFootball

We looked at how much every goal scored by striker Paul Onuachu has cost Southampton as doubts are raised over his future at the club.

It is fair to say that striker Paul Onuachu's time at Southampton has not gone as well as he would have hoped.

Onuachu joined Southampton from Belgian side Genk for a fee of £18 million in February 2023, and his impressive career goalscoring record offered hope that he could be the man to keep the club in the Premier League.

However, it certainly did not work out that way as Onuachu failed to score in 12 appearances on the way to relegation, and rather than being given a chance to show what he was capable of in the Championship, he was instead loaned out to Trabzonspor.

Onuachu rediscovered his form with the Turkish side, scoring 17 goals and providing four assists in just 25 games last season, but despite being widely expected to leave the club permanently in the summer, he remained with the Saints for their return to the top flight.

The 30-year-old was largely overlooked by former manager Russell Martin in the first half of the season, but he featured much more regularly under Ivan Juric prior to his sacking earlier this month, and he has netted four goals and registered one assist in 25 appearances so far this season.

Doubt cast over Paul Onuachu's long-term Southampton future

All of Onuachu's four goals for Southampton this season have come since the turn of the year, leading some to question whether he could have a part to play in the Championship next term, but as the club are currently without a manager, there is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding his long-term future.

When asked for his thoughts on whether Onuachu could be an asset in the second tier next season, FLW's Saints fan pundit Martin Sanders admitted he has doubts over whether the club can rely on the striker, and he said that much will depend on who is in charge at St Mary's.

"Tall Paul Onuachu, what a guy," Martin said.

"He signed for Saints in the January of 2023. They've tried to sell him in every single window since. He was bought for Nathan Jones and within weeks of signing him we sacked Jones. So, all in all, it was a bit of a disaster to be honest.

"Onuachu hasn't really set the world alight. He was 28 when he arrived. He's scored goals all around Europe out on loan in the Turkish league. He really struggled to make an impact here. He's a tall striker - six-foot-seven, I think I'm right in saying. He's never really been given loads of service.

"Do I think he could cut it in the Championship? It's a good question, and I'm not sure, you know. From what I've seen of him at times this year, he isn't that mobile, and you would need a manager to play to his strengths if he was going to do well in the Championship.

"It's dependent on the manager really. A lot of people think that he could drop down and do a job in the Championship; I'm not convinced. I think that there's got to be better options than Onuachu. If we're resting our hopes of scoring goals next season on Tall Paul then we've got a bit of a problem."

As the debate continues to rage over whether Southampton should keep or offload Onuachu in the summer, we looked at how much each of the goals he has scored so far have cost the club.

How much every Paul Onuachu goal has cost Southampton

Onuachu has only found the back of the net four times for Southampton since his £18 million move to St Mary's two-and-a-half years ago, meaning that each of his goals has cost the club a staggering £4.5 million.

After a lengthy goal drought, Onuachu finally opened his account for the Saints in the 3-2 defeat at Nottingham Forest in January before getting on the scoresheet again two weeks later in the 2-1 victory at Ipswich Town, which gave the South Coast outfit the smallest glimmer of hope of survival.

The failure to build on the success at Portman Road meant that any optimism was quickly extinguished, but Onuachu continued to play an unexpectedly important role under Juric, scoring his third goal of the season in the 2-1 defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers prior to the March international break, and he netted again the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace the following game.

Onuachu's revival was one of few positives during Juric's disastrous tenure, and as the club's relegation had been a certainty for some time, his goals have been relatively incidental in the wider context of their season, but he is certainly finishing the campaign in strong form, giving the Saints a big decision to make ahead of the summer transfer window.

The Nigeria international's career goalscoring record shows that he can be prolific, and if he does remain at Southampton next season, he may get the chance to repay owner Dragan Solak's significant investment in him.

However, the likes of Danny Rohl, Liam Rosenior, Frank Lampard and Will Still have all been linked with the Saints, and it is difficult to see how Onuachu fits into any of their respective styles of play, so as Martin says, any decision over his long-term future will depend on who is in the dugout at St Mary's next season.