Paul Onuachu scored goals for all the clubs he represernted……except Southampton. At his first European club, his goals helped Midtjyland to two Danish Superliga titles, and then at his next club, Genk he finished the 2020-21 season as the leading goalscorer in the Belgian Pro League with 33 goals, the highest in the Belgian top flight since 1980.

As the 2023-24 season unwound, Southampton were struggling to maintain their place in the Premier League, and it was thought Onuachu’s goalscoring – he had now scored over 150 times for Midtjyland and Genk – would help drag Saints clear of relegation, but it simply did not happen, as Saints fell through the trap door without him finding the net once. At 6 feet 7 inches and quickly dubbed “Tall Paul” by the fans, the natural assumption was he would be good in the air, but none of his managers at St Mary’s seemed minded to exploit this side of his game. Nathan Jones was in charge when he arrived, but he was sacked within a fortnight and Ruben Séllés, his successor, seemed reluctant to place any trust in him. His height did not detract from his agility on the ground – as his 24 caps for Nigeria would attest – but the powers to be at Southampton now deemed him unsuitable for Championship football, so he was sent to Turkey where he quickly got back into the habit of scoring goals.

Back in England Saints managed to climb back to the top-flight via the play-offs, and after a season away he returned to St Mary’s, hoping his second bite at Premier League football might be more fulfilling. Despite the team faring disastrously, Russell Martin seemed reluctant to give him game time, and so utilised him mainly from the bench in little cameos, which hardly boosted his confidence. Nevertheless, when he did come on he put himself about, causing quite a bit of mayhem and the crowds were sympathetic to his efforts.

Finally, under Ivan Juric, he was given a few starts and he responded by scoring four League goals which, incredibly, was enough to make him Southampton’s top scorer for the 2024-25 season. With the club again relegated there was a train of thought that “Tall Paul” could do a decent job in the second tier, but again his face didn’t appear to fit, and he was unloaded permanently, this time, to Trabzonspor where, once again he found his scoring boots. At £15m he had been an expensive acquisition and Saints took quite a hit when selling him. Perhaps, if someone had shown a little more faith and patience in the big striker then that original outlay may have come to be regarded as money well spent.