Southampton fans’ prayers were finally answered when they brought in a striker on transfer deadline day. Paul Onuachu wasn’t the only attacking addition on the final day of the window, though, with Kamaldeen Sulemana also joining the Saints.
It has been abundantly clear since the summer that Southampton needed a striker. Finally, on the last day possible, this issue was addressed. Che Adams scored the only goal for his side in their unsuccessful Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Tuesday night but misses far too many big chances, Adam Armstrong has scored just one Premier League goal this season and looks as though his future may be on the wing – if he is to have one at the club – whilst Sekou Mara is talented but was never meant to be the main striker at just 20.
Now, with the £18.5m arrival of Onuachu from Genk, Southampton have a striker who has a track-record of scoring goals over a prolonged period of time. Combine this with the £22.5m record signing of Sulemana from Rennes and the Southampton board have provided Nathan Jones with attacking options that they could have done with for a long time – better late than never, though.
Since the moment he walked through the door at Southampton, Jones has made it clear that he has wanted a tall, target-man upfront. In 6 foot 7 Onuachu he has that and then some.
Onuachu’s goal record speaks for itself. In the Nigerian’s time in Denmark, he scored 74 goals and registered 23 assists in his 181 games. Since making the move to Belgium in August 2019 he has scored 85 and assisted ten in 134 games. He also won the golden boot in the Belgian top flight after scoring a record-breaking 33 goals in 38 games in 2020-21 and was awarded the Belgian Golden Shoe award in 2021 which is given to the best player in the Belgian league that calendar year. To add to this, the striker has scored 16 in 19 in the league this campaign.
At 28, Onuachu joins Southampton a ready-made striker who is likely to be at his peak; a stark contrast from much of their recent recruitment. He is an international striker, although his three goals in 17 Nigeria appearances are nowhere near as prolific as his club numbers. Since joining Genk, Onuachu has registered either a goal or assist every 97.1 minutes in the league – 79 goals and six assists in 114 games. Whilst the move to the Premier League is undoubtedly a step up in level from his time in Denmark and Belgium, his efficiency in front of goal should bring real optimism. His 16 league goals this season have come from an xG of 11.66 and he has averaged a goal every 74 minutes in the time he has played.
A deeper look at the numbers show that this outperformance of xG is not a flash in the pan or a hot streak. Onuachu has taken 35 shots in the Belgian league this season, 21 of which have been on target (1.6 shots on target per 90 minutes). He also has a shot conversion rate of 45.71% – which is not to be frowned upon for a striker – and averages a goal every 2.19 shots. Furthermore, Onuachu has averaged 1.6 shots in box per 90 minutes this season, showing he is effective at getting himself space in the area to get a shot away, whether that be via his head or foot.
Given his enormous presence, it comes as no surprise that Onuachu wins an average of 2.66 aerial duals per game. Perhaps more surprisingly from a player of his profile is the fact that he averages 0.99 key passes per game. There is no getting away from the fact that Onuachu is a target-man, but he has many more facets to his game than just winning a few flick-ons. Despite his height, the Nigerian is no slouch and his long strides allow him to get away from opposition defenders. He is an aggressive attacker of space in the box and this, coupled with his height, mean he is often first to any crosses into the box. One downside of his game which he will have to soon improve in the Premier League where there is less time on the ball is his tendency to hold onto the ball for too long. This is demonstrated by the fact that he has been dispossessed an average of 3.8 times per 90 minutes this season.
Nothing highlights the many strings to Onuachu’s bow better than the variety of goals he scores. The majority of his goals since 2014-15 have been categorised by Transfermarkt and these are: 49 headers, 43 right-foot, 21 left-foot, 19 penalties, 13 tap-ins and 18 uncategorised. This shows his aerial prowess, but also his ability to score goals with either his stronger right-foot or his left. He has also only missed two of his 21 penalties in his career to date.
Onuachu gives Southampton the option to go very direct and get bodies in and around him to benefit from his hold-up play or the space that he opens up by occupying central defenders. One such beneficiary of this is likely to be Sulemana, particularly given his electric pace.
If Onuachu is an experienced striker who has polished his game through experience, then Sulemana is the other end of the spectrum. At just 20, the Ghanaian attacker is very raw but incredibly exciting. At 5 foot 8, he is also almost a foot shorter than his fellow deadline-day signing but they are a pair who should compliment each other well.
Sulemana had played in 14 Ligue 1 matches for Rennes this campaign but only played 326 minutes spread across those fixtures – this works out as just over three-and-a-half games worth of minutes. In that time he has managed one goal and in his fledgling career to date he has six senior goals. In those 326 minutes in the league, Sulemana has managed to create 13 shot-creating actions and the winger has also provided two assists in four Europa League group games this term.
He is right-footed winger but his low centre of gravity allows him to go either way to beat his man and he can positively effect the game from either flank. He has frightening pace both with and without the ball and his biggest strength is arguably his fast, direct dribbling. His close control, combined with his trickery and explosive turn of pace mean that he has averaged 3.71 successful take-ons per 90 minutes in the past year. When compared with other attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues in this timeframe, this puts Sulemana in the top 2% in this metric. He mixes up his dribbling technique to keep defenders guessing, with small frequent touches often suddenly followed by a heavy touch past an opponent to attack the space and this makes him very useful in transition.
Sulemana carries the ball in a direct manner which means he has averaged 3.88 progressive carries in the past year (74th percentile) but he is also very adept at finding space to receive the ball in dangerous areas, evidenced by his 11.31 progressive passes received per 90 (87th percentile). With progressive passers like James Ward-Prowse and Roméo Lavia – as well as new recruit Carlos Alcaraz – in the Southampton midfield, Sulemana should find himself receiving the ball in attacking positions on a regular basis for his new club.
Sulemana loves receiving the ball to feet and isolating his defender before attempting to take them on. Again, due to his direct nature and ball-carrying abilities he drives towards the box and gets his opponent on the back-foot. The fact that he averages 5.07 touches in the opponent’s penalty area shows that he is successful at doing this and putting defenders in situations they would not wish to find themselves in.
At Rennes, Sulemana would generally have either Arnaud Kalimuendo, or Amine Gouiri – or both – up front to try and pick out with crosses or cutbacks. Kalimuendo is 5 foot 9, whilst Gouiri is 5 foot 11, so both are very different in terms of stature and playing style to Onuachu who will surely be chosen to lead the Southampton line. As referred to, Onuachu’s presence should create space for Sulemana, whether that be in wide areas or through making runs from out-to-in to find space in behind centrally.
Despite his age, Sulemana will not be happy with the fact that he started just two league games for Rennes this season and should arrive at Southampton with a burning desire to show the Premier League what he is capable of. He was not short of suitors – which is testament to his potential – with Everton and RB Leipzig just two of the other clubs linked with the 11-times-capped Ghana international prior to Southampton securing his signature.
One thing that is for certain is that Sulemana’s average of 2.36 crosses per 90 will surely go up significantly with Onuachu’s head to aim for in the box. Sulemana is not dissimilar to Samuel Edozie, who joined Southampton in the summer having impressed in Manchester City’s youth set-up, in playing style, but the former Rennes man has more end product and experience to draw on.
Another defeat in the league, this time away at Brentford, has given Southampton fans little to be positive about, but perhaps the much-needed arrivals of Sulemana and Onuachu could give them a chance in their quest for Premier League survival. There is no time to embed these signings however, they simply must come in and contribute with immediate effect.
Both players are known for their athletic goal celebrations. Southampton fans will hope they get to see such celebrations on a regular basis – starting with Wolves at home in their next match.
