KRC Genk striker Paul Onuachu ‘still dreams’ of making his mark in a ‘big competition’. Carry on like this, and the two-metre targetman surely won’t have to wait too much longer before he’s being snapped up by a club in one of Europe’s major leagues.
Onuachu scored a remarkable 35 goals during the 2020/21 campaign. A further 23 came in 2021/22.
And, with 13 in just 14 Jupiler League matches so far this term, the late-blooming centre-forward is well-placed to add another Golden Boot to his burgeoning collection of silverware.
Onuachu has already found out the hard way, however, that neither a prolific goalscoring record nor even a Player of the Year award provides the guarantee of a big-money move.
Genk striker Paul Onuachu was keen on joining Wolves in the summer
“(Belgium’s) Golden Shoe (given to the best player in the league) is a great prize that I am proud of. But it didn’t have the effect I had hoped for. It didn’t change my life,” Onuachu sighs, in conversation with De Morgen.
“I thought he would open the door to a transfer. Everyone knows that I wanted to take a step higher. However, the interest was not there last winter.
“In the summer, I had set my sights on a transfer again. This time there were interested clubs, but the puzzle pieces did not fit together. That was a disappointment, because I believe I showed the right things to force a transfer.
“I have seen players here leave for a great club, who have shown less than me.”
One of those ‘interested clubs’, according to the Onuachuu himself, was Wolverhampton Wanderers. And how the men from Molineux could do with him now. The Nigeria international has scored far more goals all on his own (13) than Wolves’ entire squad have managed so far in the Premier League this season.
And, at the risk of applying a shovel load of salt to those wounds, the striker Wolves signed instead – Sasa Kalajdzic – is unlikely to kick a ball again this season; rupturing his ACL just 45 minutes into his Premier League debut.
Will Onuachu finally get his ‘dream’ move in January? With Matheus Cunha on his way to Molineux, the chances of Wolves renewing their interest look slim.
But surely there’s someone, somewhere, who’d be willing to hand one of Europe’s most prolific number nines a chance to showcase his talents on a greater stage.
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