Trabzonspor President, Ertugrul Dogan, has revealed Southampton prevented Super Eagles striker, Paul Onuachu, from moving to Turkey several times, Soccernet.ng reports.
Onuachu spent a season on loan from Southampton with the Turkish side last campaign, and was prolific in front of goal in his stay at the club, scoring 17 goals and providing four assists in 25 games.
As a result, Trabzonspor were keen on keeping the Nigerian at the club, and made attempts to secure a permanent move, but the Saint’s didn’t budge.
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However, the Super Lïg side are still in pursuit of the former Genk man.Trabzonspor President, Ertugrul Dogan, has told the Turkish media they are still trying to sign the lanky forward.
Additionally, he revealed Southampton have not kept their word in the negotiations for Onuachu, as they have continued to ask for money.
“We had agreed with Onuachu. We’re still seeing each other. Southampton asked for seven million and we gave them that, they asked for ten, we went up to nine with bonuses, then they increased the asking fee to fifteen million.
“So, they weren’t going to give him to us. Therefore, we won’t force a deal somewhere else. If it is not on our terms, we will not be able to make this transfer,” the 48-year-old said in quotes revealed by Sports Witness.
Onuachu made 16 appearances for Southampton this season, and has scored two goals, with the most recent coming in their 2-1 win against Ipswich Town.
The Turkish transfer window doesn’t close until February 11 so Trabzonspor, alongside Besiktas, have the luxury of another week to get a deal over the line for the centre-forward, but it unlikely Southampton will want to part ways with Onuachu this month.
Onuachu is contracted to the Premier League side until June 2026, and with Southampton currently bottom of the English Premier League, they’ll need all the fire power they can get as the hope to survive relegation.