The Nigerian forward, who was anything but a success at St Mary’s, has hit the ground running in Turkey, scoring six goals and providing an assist in eight league games.

We’ve already covered the idea that Trabzonspor would ideally like to sign him permanently, and Fotospor add a bit more to that.

They explain the Süper Lig side are very keen to continue the adventure with Onuachu, and would ideally like to offer him a ‘new contract’, as they plan a ‘long trip’ with him and Nicolas Pépé going forward as long as there are no injuries.

Fotospor then explain the ideal scenario would be to purchase the striker full-time, but, ‘if not, they want to loan him for one more year’.

What could be critical in their attempts with whether Southampton return to the Premier League, which remains a possibility as they sit fourth in the Championship after 17 games, firmly in a play-off spot, one point behind Leeds United.

Then again, even if the Saints were to be promoted, it seems unlikely they would want Onuachu back, since he never managed to find the back of the net for them in 12 appearances despite spending €18m on his services from KRC Genk.

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That’s according to Bursad Bugun, who say the Super Lig side plan to ‘start contacts’ in the coming weeks to negotiate over the loan player and a permanent move.

They explain that the striker’s future in Turkey remains uncertain at this point as his current loan deal expires at the end of the season and there’s no indication so far about what Southampton intend to do with him.

They were happy to get rid of him in the summer after his disastrous few months at the club following a move in January last year, but the deal does not include a purchase clause.

He’s found his feet in Turkey, though, with six goals and one assist in eight league games so far and 87% of the available minutes played so far.

That tally puts him joint fifth in the top goal scorer charts in the league and only four goals behind the leaders, a tally which has seemingly impressed Trabzonspor.

Thus they ‘will ask’ Southampton what their conditions would be for a permanent transfer next summer, presumably in the hope that their valuations align, and a deal can be done.

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Standard Liège had come knocking for the winger, and a transfer was swiftly organised, even it meant the Saints making a considerable loss on the player.

There was a lot of excitement in Belgium following his arrival from Southampton, but Le Soir explain that this has now changed to ‘bitterness’.

The reason for this is Djenepo has failed to reproduce his previous antics, meaning he has had a ‘difficult comeback’ to Belgian football.

He immediately became a leader in the club’s dressing room, so the personal side of things certainly isn’t having an effect on him, and the problems are more on the pitch.

The former Southampton man has been placed on the wing of a 3-5-2 formation that ‘doesn’t suit him’, which has led the forward to start ‘forcing things’ more often than not.

Despite this, his manager is ready to give him time to readapt to his surroundings, knowing how important he can be.

Still, with no goals and no assists since his return, worries are starting to appear, and Le Soir suggest that perhaps moving him in a more central role, taking away defensive responsibilities from him in the process, could help him out.

Either way, the dream return to Standard Liège from Southampton isn’t working for the time being, and something needs to change.

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He was then at FC Augsburg in Germany, but a move to St Mary’s took place in August of 2019, which saw him stay in the south of England for the entire season.

The now 25-year-old only played 10 times for the club over that period, and, in an interview with 90Football, relayed by La Voix du Nord, he revealed how much he struggled at Southampton.

This emerged during a conversation about mental health, and how he feels that he can speak to anyone at Lens these days if he has a problem.

At Southampton, however, it was a bit tougher, as he opened up about his time with the Championship side.

He said: “The most difficult moment of my career. It was a very complicated period for me. I was 20-21. It was the first time I was faced with adversity. The confidence was going. You start telling yourself that maybe you’re not good enough. When you want to be the best, that’s tough to deal with.”

Danso reveals that he eventually managed to speak to his brother, which helped him overcome his worries and doubts, explaining that openly discussing the issues gave him ‘another energy’.

He eventually bounced back, as a good loan spell at Düsseldorf allowed him to then get his move to Lens, with plenty of Premier League clubs now keeping an eye on him.

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This comes from Laola1, who reveal that both Spurs and the Saints will be sending representatives to watch the friendly between Germany and Austria.

Of course, Tottenham and Southampton won’t be the only ones, as Olympique Lyon and Vitesse Arnhem scouts will also be in the stands, alongside others from Wolfsburg, Hoffenheim and Karlsruher SC.

As to who the two English teams would be travelling to watch is a mystery, some educated guesses can certainly be made.

Take Tottenham, for example, who have had some injuries of late, and need to plan for the absence of Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma during the Africa Cup of Nations.

There will be a number of young and talented midfielders on display in that game, with the likes of Nicolas Seiwald, Matthias Seidl and Christian Baumgartner potentially playing.

They could also be keeping tabs on someone like Kevin Danso, who has been widely mooted with a move to the Premier League in the past, especially with a need for more depth in defence going forward.

As for Southampton, it’s a bit trickier to find some value in what are relatively expensive national sides, but players such as strikers Manprit Sarkaria, contracted to Sturm Graz, or Maximilian Entrup (TSV Hartberg) could be targets for the Saints going forward.

This is just us throwing names around, but all you need to know is that Tottenham and the Championship side will have scouts at the game.

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The young forward had arrived from Anderlecht four years prior, going straight into the Saints’ U18 squad, but his time at St Mary’s never saw him step onto the pitch for the first-team.

This, according to the player himself in an interview with DH in Belgium, is why he chose to leave Southampton this summer, opting for a return to a country he knows well.

He has since played eight times for Cercle Brugge, with just the one start, but it’s still far more than he got with the Saints, who had sent him on loan the past season, first to Ross County and then to Harrogate Town.

Asked about the decision to leave Southampton, Olaigbe said: “I needed to really test myself as a professional and prove to myself that I could do it. Southampton didn’t want to give me a chance in the first-team, so I wanted to leave.”

With that in mind, the outlet also asked him if he regretted swapping Anderlecht for the now Championship club back in 2019, but he assured them he made the right choice.

He added: “I will never have regrets, because each step allows you to grow and all the work accomplished will pay off one day or another. In England, I learned to develop physically, to be more aggressive, but also to behave very professionally: eat well, go to sleep early, etc…”

While out on loan in Scotland with Ross County, Olaigbe made 25 appearances, scored two goals and assisted another one, while his stint at Harrogate Town saw him find the back of the net three times and assist five goals in 19 games.

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He has continued that in the Championship following the team’s relegation to England’s second-tier, playing in 14 games so far this season in the league.

His regular playing time means the Southampton defender is also getting chances with Poland’s national team, and he was the designated player to face the media with his manager on Tuesday, where he was asked about life in a different league, relayed by O2.

Bednarek made it clear he has nothing to complain about these days at St Mary’s, even if adapting to the different football in the Championship does take some getting used to.

He said: “There is definitely a difference between the two leagues. The Championship is definitely more physical. Whenever I talk to someone, I say that when we stand in a circle before a match, I feel like we are playing rugby.

“The players are tall and physically strong. There are definitely differences in quality, but the league is strong and demanding. The number of games is also physically demanding.”

Bednarek has been at Southampton since 2017 after he signed for them from Lech Poznan in a €6m deal, and has since made 187 appearances in all competitions for them, scoring four goals and assisting one other.

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Brazilian outlet Trivela this week features a story about the striker’s future, claiming Bayern Munich just held a meeting with his entourage.

The outlet points out that the German side have big competition from English clubs, and that’s when Southampton end up getting a mention.

It’s claimed that the Saints tried to buy Marcos Leonardo in December last year, and Santos were actually interested in striking a deal with them.

The problem was Marcos Leonardo’s choice. Trivela claims that the player, his family and his entourage understood that Southampton would not be an ‘interesting project’ for his career, especially when you take into consideration where they were in the Premier League at that stage.

Other English clubs who reportedly made contact with his entourage so far have been Nottingham Forest, Brentford, Chelsea, West Ham and Newcastle United.

The word in Brazil has been that the player will be sold in the coming months, but with Southampton now in the Championship, it’s hard to imagine them in this battle, and their chance to do so has now passed.

The post Southampton talks to sign Brazilian starlet revealed – Player’s decision made transfer collapse appeared first on Sport Witness.

Those were the talks for the transfer of Paul Onuachu, who had advanced talks for the move and ended up joining Turkish side Trabzonspor on a loan deal instead.

Genk’s Head Of Football Dimitri De Condé was interviewed by Het Laatste Nieuws. Quoted by Voetbal Nieuws, explained what went wrong when they were trying to land the striker.

He claims that the clubs were negotiating a swap involving Onuachu and Joseph Paintsil, and that collapsed in the end.

“There were price agreements in connection with the Paintsil-Onuachu swap. As I said, Joseph’s heart was in Genk,” Dimitri De Condé told Het Laatste Nieuws.

“I was certainly not going to force him to leave. So be it, we were willing to put the knocked-off amount on the table for Paul. It would be the most expensive incoming transfer in Genk’s history. “

He then revealed that Southampton also wanted another move involved in the deal, which was Aziz Ouattara’s move to Valenciennes, who had the same owners as the Saints.

“Everything seemed fine, but in 24 hours everything changed. It suddenly became times two and Aziz having to leave for France. Then we said: no way.”

That indeed sounds like a complicated situation, and it’s not hard to understand why it all collapsed in the end.

Onuachu is staying at Trabzonspor until the end of the season, and continues to have a contract with Southampton until 2026.

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The attacking midfielder has impressed this season, scoring seven goals and registering one assist from 11 games. On Sunday, he starred by netting the winner in his side’s 2-1 victory over FC Nordsjælland.

Vallys’ performances have caught the attention of several clubs, including Manchester United, Aston Villa and Southampton.

It’s claimed the Premier League duo, the Saints, VfL Wolfsburg, Real Betis, Marseille and PSV Eindhoven all had officials in attendance yesterday to watch the 27-year-old live in action against Nordsjælland.

Among these clubs, the report states PSV had sent their chief scout to take a closer look at the Denmark international and others.

When describing his latest performance, Ekstra Bladet say Vallys showcased his qualities to the scouts who were in attendance and he’s the ‘epitome of football intelligence at a high level.’

The Dane’s deal lasts until 2026 and Brøndby manager Jesper Sørensen has admitted that he’s not surprised other clubs have set their sights on him.

“I don’t go about my day worrying about whether we can keep Vallys. But if there is someone else who thinks Vallys is more talented than us, then I can really understand that,” he said.

Despite the likes of Manchester United, Aston Villa and Southampton watching Vallys, the newspaper questions if many big clubs would ‘put large sums of millions’ on the table for a player who turned 27 years of age in September.

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