Southampton coach Ivan Juric has backed Super Eagles star Paul Onuachu to start scoring goals despite his struggles at the club, Soccernet.ng reports.
Onuachu has had a tough start to life since his transfer from Genk to Southampton two years ago.
The big Nigerian striker was quite prolific during his time at Belgium, producing 85 goals and ten assists in 134 appearances. But he has not gotten significant game time to prove his mettle since moving to Southampton. Onuachu is yet to score after 22 appearances.
However, it seems his game time is set to increase significantly in the coming weeks.
This is as former coach Martin Russell got sacked last week after an abysmal start to the campaign.
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Now, former Torino boss Juric has taken over at the helm of affairs. The Croatian tactician took charge of the club last week, and in his first game in charge against West Ham, he gave Onuachu a starting shirt.
The Super Eagles star put himself about, but he failed to score for the St. Mary’s, as they lost to West Ham 1-0.
Despite Onuachu’s failure to score, Juric pulled his weight behind the Nigerian after the game.
“Onuachu scored goals in Belgium every year, 20 goals. In Turkey, it’s the same thing. It’s not the same thing playing in Turkey and Belgium compared to England,” Juric said, per Daily Echo.
“But it’s not one year that he scored 20 goals. I believe that he can do it. What I saw in these training sessions, he has his own characteristics.
“Long ball, keep the ball, the head is strong. It’s normal that he’s not the fastest player in the world, but in some games, I think he can do it well.”
Southampton’s next game is against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, and they will be looking to claim a win, as they battle to stay alive in the Premier League.
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