Former Genk striker Wesley Sonck has lavished praise on Paul Onuachu following the Nigerian impressive form for the club this season, reports Completesports.com.
Onuachu, who joined the former Belgian Pro League champions from Danish side Midtylland last summer has scored six goals in six league outings for the Smurfs this season.
The 26-year-old was on Thursday named Belgian League Player of the Month after scoring five times in three outings.
“If you take the totality into account, I can’t think of a better striker in Belgium at the moment”, Sonck was quoted by sporza.be.
“You can play him in the foot, in the air, he can extend and is extremely dangerous in the penalty area. Whether the ball comes low or high, he is always close by in the box.”
“He has something like Jan Koller, but with better feet. He can head incredibly well and moves quite well. His feet are not bad and he is not slow with his big steps.”
By Adeboye Amosu
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COMMENTS
It is interesting to see such encomiums in the article above being directed at a striker that has not really impressed many fans in Super Eagles colours.
“He has something like Jan Koller, but with better feet. He can head incredibly well and moves quite well. His feet are not bad and he is not slow with his big steps.”
Wow!
I think Onuachu can still be such an asset to the Super Eagles if called upon. But for that to happen, it will help if he can try to adapt his own style to suit the Super Eagles rather than the other way around.
And I strongly believe he can. I remember reading Steve Dede’s appraisal of Onuachu’s performance against Egypt in the 2018 friendly when the Pulse.ng journalist touched on some attributes that lanky striker has in his locker.
“Paul Onuachu (Striker)
Best Super Eagles player of the evening. Was a physical menace to the Egyptian defence who could not handle him. Was good with everything, caused some problems with his nimble feet and caught everything from the air. A performance complimented with his wonderful early goal.
9/10,” observed Dede in 2018.
Nimble feet, aerial prowess, fancy footwork, nuisance to defenders and a goal to add icing to the cherry on his performance cake. If he could produce all of these in one match, why did he struggle to reprise such performances in his subsequent 6 caps for Nigeria to date?
Are fans being just impatient or is it such that the current climate of the Super Eagles makes patience with mis-firing strikers a scarce commodity?
Whichever the case, Onuachu is distinguishing himself as a consistent goal scorer in club football. He will need to replicate his club form in Super Eagles colours if the opportunities present themselves.
Nigeria is not short of quality options up front. So, strikers who fail to grab the opportunities given with both feet will find themselves alienated from the national team regardless of how well they play in club football.
Am really excited about Onuachu’s current form. I would like him to move to a bigger european league next summer to play against bigger teams/players week in week out.
If he distinguishes himself in a top 5 european league then the super eagles shirt is gauaranteed.
Yeah @Pato Onuachu playing in a top league will help develop his adaptation to the super eagles.
Right now he’s doing everything right and hopefully by next year he should move to a top European league and that should put him in a good stead to improve as a world class striker.
However,i think Rohr saw something unique in this bin pole striker to take him to the last Afcon and beyond,and i believe just like Osimhen rose under Rohr despite initial struggles same way Onuachu will rise to be a great player for club and country.
Our best striker in Europe on the account of goals scored is not in our team to face two African giants. Invitation to national team at times can be so funny. Can someone explain to me why Dessers and Iheanacho are in the team for our next international fixture and Onuachu is not there.
Exactly… Onuachu is often beat down because of few games he started for SE and did not click well with his showings. To me I believe he is letting his football speak for him now! If he continues to bench Dessers then surely he will be deserving of subsequent friendlies.
@Papafem
don’t say “our”….. Say “your” best striker is not in the SE squard….
As for the reason of his exclussion, we the entire fans have seen enough of “YOUR WORLD BEST STRIKER” and we are tired and fed up of him for the main time….
We want to try something new hence we call on DESSERS to see what he can offer to the team….
Remember, this your world best striker “PAUL LEWANDOSKI IMMOBILE VARDY ONUACHU” has been given enough time by the coach(ROHR) even when fans never wanted him anymore.
So forget about the decision for the call ups for now.
Moreover, you can’t compare him with OSIMHEN so calling him SE best striker is an “OVER STATEMENT”….
Was it yesterday the SE list was compiled….? No.
Was it on the 21st of September when it was released it was compiledd and submitted to the NFF…? No
Was the list compiled and submitted to the NFF weeks before it was released…? Yes
Had Onuachu scored six goals before the list was complied and submitted to the NFF…? No
Has Onuachu has his opportunity in the SE….? Yes
Will Onuachu still have his opportunity in future SE engagements…? Yes
Before…Rohr is too conservative….he doesnt give room for new players….he doesnt give room for competition…he is this….he is that. Now he has opened up room for new players to be tested in friendlies, it has become problem again.
Lets not create a storm in a tea cup.
Honestly I think this current call ups are mostly based on their performances last season. Our best striker in Europe today without an iota of doubt is Victor Osimhen and he’s yet to score for Napoli so far this season. I saw Iheanacho against Arsenal in the last round of the League cup and I don’t think he was out of place. The fact that Leicester haven’t sold him speaks volume of what he can offer them in what looks like a title challenge season. Dessers was the top scorer in the Dutch Eredivise last season and could’ve made his debut for SuperEagles in March if not the pandemic. Based on his performances since after the Egypt friendly Onuachu hasn’t really demonstrated enough capabilities to stake a claim in the current SuperEagles. However, like greenturf said above it could be a case of initial struggles just like Osimhen. At the end of the day it will be a direct battle between him and Dessers as to who can be a foil or back up to Osimhen in the SuperEagles top strikers position. Technically and tactically I’m also looking to see a possible Osimhen and Iheanacho combo in attack for the upcoming friendlies as well.
There’s one thing you people always fail to understand in this game of soccer but you people would never allow somebody to explain to u bcos of pride….
Some people claim to know soccer but are pure baby in the analysis of the game….
Players are of three calibers….
We have a national team player, club player & players that possess both….
A club player would do best in the club but when called upon in the national team he fumbles. A typical example is our very YAKUBU AIYEGBENI that would score 4 good goals in a single match in EPL but hardly score a brace for Nigeria.
Always a threat in EPL but i can’t remember when he brought fear factor in favor of SE.
National team player rarely perform in his club but does wonders in their national team colors e.g MIKEL plays confidently in SE colors than in Chelsea colors.
Iwobi does better with SE than any club he plays for.
There’re players that does both…
Now where would you like to classify your world best PAUL LEWANDOSKI IMMOBILE ONUACHU?
… @UBFE, football is not mathematics. Your analyses makes it look all too simplistic. Football no easy as you the think. Do you just hate Onuachu or what? How many Super Eagles strikers fit score the kind intelligent and classic goal he scored in the friendly against Egypt? Please cut Paul Onuachu some slack… With Rohr’s often overly defensive tactic the whole teams often boots too slow. What happened in all the friendlies we played before the 2018 world cup? We lost everything and it continued into the World Cup where we crashed out without any real fight. With Rohr often setting up the team with a serious lack of confidence and daring, it gets so unpredictable that even holding on to lead and managing advantage to see off a game is even rocket science for Coach Rohr. He has a Super Eagles regime full of potentials now let’s see how he adapts the team to a dependable winning group going forward! If we played to our true strength Algeria were not suppose to defeat us in the Semi final of last Afcon 2019!
Club football is different from national team football. There is more understanding in club football because Onuachu knows all the opponents he will be playing. Not like international football where the familiarity factor is missing. 🙂
What about Simy.Is he not on the same level with Onuachu.
Goodnews guys Fifa just change kelvin akpoguma nationality to Nigeria.. Find link below https://www.fifaindex.com/player/211856/kevin-akpoguma/
This is not from FIFA….its from fifaindex, the sports gaming producers.
Rohr needs to see what makes this guy thick in his club and thin in the national team. One major challenge this guy is having in the national team is the poor supply of crosses and passes coming from the wings. His major strength is the ability to use his head. And looking at his height, one would understand why he’s been scoring in Belgium because the attack is built around him and the wingers at Genk always feed him with good crosses. In our present team, all the wingers we have are very talented , fantastic dribblers and runners. But they tend to cut in from the wings and look for spaces to shoot in opposing teams’ vital areas. We often run into problems when opponents pack buses and on few occasions, we’ve lost in ridiculous manners because of technicality. Onuachu is a player that can be used to open up tight defences if he receives adequate supply of crosses and passes from the wings. We can leverage on this strength of his to win matches. Amuneke and Finidi were were good crossers of the ball,. Reason players like Yekini and Mutiu Adepoju shone like a million stars. There was no way Mutiu would have scored against Hierro and those Spanish guys at the back in France 98 if not for that beautiful cross from the wings. Rohr should look at how he can maximize the strength of our players in the national team instead of dumping them after a few matches. Another similar case is Simy Nwankwo. If a player can score in Belgium and Italy, he should be able to score against any team in the world.
Onuachu is no doubt a world class striker. Very deadly at goal post. Quick thinker who know how to score goals.
Why he, Onuachu is not not performing well in the national team?
The tactics and confidence of coach Rohr its letting the lanky striker down.
Onuachu hardly getting game time under the gaffer.
Same thing with Simmy Nwankwo and Onyekuru.
It is very clear that if the head of an organization doesn’t want you, he will find a way to avoid you.
We can see know that the coach is try to have a second German national team in Nigeria.
I’m not sorry to say this, that is exactly what is happening.
Many of our players in Nigeria and outside Nigeria may not represent Nigeria as long as Oga Rohr still in charge of the Super Eagles.
How many German players do we have in the Super Eagles now? So, what do we talking about.
As long as you are a fantastic player, you deserve a chance period. God bless Nigeria!!!
Only God knows how you reason my brother. Onuachu just like every other player was given his chance and he played his part; and i’m pretty sure he’s definitely part of the team. He has been tested and Rohr and his crew know his ability. The upcoming friendlies would be used to prepare the team and test the strenght and abilities of new invitees. Onuachu, Simy and Onyekuru have all been tested and they are yet to convince the coach that they are up to the task in the national team and not just in their club sides. No hard feelings, these are just basics for every teams around the world, and why you have problem with it is what i dont understand.
and you were talking about grooming German national team, i still don’t understand the basis for this argument. Is it because of the new Akpoguma or jamilu collins or Okoye now in Rotterdam or the man himself? Is this not just a pure hate towards an innocent man?
Lmao
@Omo9ja….
Do u watch club football at all?
onyekuru that can’t even creat any impact at monaco that you want rohr to pick ahead of kalu and inform moses simon?
Clap for yourself….
Stop hating Rohr you would not hear…. See how clueless u are now…
See what hatred can cause?
The last time I checked Germany have won 4 WorldCups. So if he’s grooming a German National team that’s even better for us. We like it that way as the SuperEagles continue to progress.
I weep for this man called omo9ja…I give up on him… Lmao
I believe we are quick to forget that Rohr gave Onuachu the chance to dethrone Ighalo from the starting XI at the AFCON. He started him on the first game, third game (I believe), and brought him up more minutes than he did with any prospective strikers for the Super Eagles. He still called him up after the AFCON for friendlies and qualifiers if I’m not mistaken. I remember him coming off to a game and he stumbled and fell while chasing a ball and my brother asked me who this was and I was to ashamed to mention his name. In that same game he was brought in to wind the time but he did nothing of such in that game.
Truth remains that Super Eagles can not play to his strength, it’s sad and tough but it is the truth. Vice versa, he can not play to the strength of the super eagles team, so all this post and comments by people to make Rohr look bad won’t hold water. Not everyone is going to play for the National team. I will even pick a Sadiq Umar ahead of him.
Oga @ DHT! How many goals did Kanu Nwankwo scored in his Nation’s Cup career if I may ask you? Make una the cut players slack small… A player has few games where did not click may be as a result of so many factors… Onuachu is still part and parcel of Super Eagles… Let’s try Dessers and see how he adapts to our game. But he has to be playing at club also otherwise we will look to players who are regulars and doing well at club.
Don’t compare Kanu to Onuachu. That’s sacrilegious. You can feel Kanu’s impact in games but Onuachu is nowhere near that. Aside the games he got from our game against Egypt before the AFCON, he started our 1st and 3rd game at the AFCON. If I am correct, he featured in 4 or 5 games at the tourney, but he didn’t show up. If Rohr knew Osimhen was going to have the effect he had against Tunisia, I am sure he would have started Osimhen earlier on in the tourney.
I don’t have any ill feeling towards the guy but his chemistry with the eagles didn’t work. Lokosa didn’t get the kind of chance he got, He got more chance than Simy and Nwakaeme would have killed to have half his chance but he didn’t utilize it. It is what it is.
Talk with sense
When you think that we have had players like Yakubu Aiyegbeni and Gambo Mohammed play as strikers before you will still give Onuachu some slack especially the fact he is still young to international football and improving. Do you think he has not had an adaptation to his game since his first international experience with Nigeria? I am sure you know just like Simmy at the world cup, the nation’s cup was also a quiet one for Onuachu. Just cut him some slack football is a process and when players are doing well for their clubs give them the benefit of the doubt they will still come good.
Bros abeg no put Yak and Gambo for this sentence. That na sacrilege. Ah! Forget that miss, Yak was a very clinical striker.
The way some people are talking about this PAUL LEWANDOSKI IMMOBILE ONUACHU makes me see the reason our boys are not doing well in EUROPE(A BITTER TRUTH).
HOW MANY OF OUR BOYS ARE IN BARCA, MADRID, CHELSEA, ARSENAL, LIVERPOOL, BAYERN, JUVE., AC, INTER, PSG.
Just average team players. Even with that they’re still struggling for first team shirt apart from NDIDI.
THE WAY WE HYPE THEIR AVERAGE PLAY MAKES THEM FEEL ‘COMPLACENT & RELAXED’.
Their main aim now is to be called in the national team, collect their pay case close.
They don’t play to become AFRICA’s FINEST anymore.
But i will never hype any of them.
If i may ask, What makes this ONUACHU quik & fast?.
The ONUACHU i know that played against LIVERPOOL last season in UCL is not fast & quik as u people claim o!
Or is there any other Onuachu bcos as for this very one, u people are lieing.
See, i was even ashame that Onuachu is a nigerian the day he played against liverpool.
hahahaha.
He missed a clear & open goal bcos of his dull & slow type of game.
…@UBFE tell us where you don suit up for street football before! Can you even run straight or zigzag for 5minutes? Mouth… that’s all you know!
@Jimmyball
u want to divert abi?
Your world best PAUL LEWANDOSKI IMMOBILE ONUACHU that was running and falling at afcon is now the fastest and quickest player in nigeria.
Hahahahahahaha…
Wonders shall never end;
as good as your WORLD BEST STIKER is no team in spain, england or even italy is coming for him.
He’s already 26….
Issokay….
Keep criticing and hating a foreigner….
U would one day leave the shore of nigeria and sail to a foreign land, the same cup u measure for Rohr will be measured back to you plus jarra….
I come in war….
… @UBFE I hope you know we are not quarreling. I never said Onuachu was the fastest player in Nigeria. Stop distorting the material of the Crux of discussion.
You simply didn’t understand the argument above.
Guys, the truth is Onuachu is part of the SE and if he keeps banging the goals for his club he will surely get invited back to the team. GR didnt invite iheanacho for awhile but still invited him when he regained his form. Onuachu is no different. I tend to agree with Jimmyball in that our wingers dont weep the ball in the box very frequently as they tend to cut in and shoot. I also think our wingers should start using the strengths of our forwards, use speed when osimen is used and high balls when strikers like simmy and onuachu are playing. There is no reason why the gaffer can’t adapt to a player and vice versa. I still think that sadiq umar is still better than the likes of onuachu, simmy, desser sef, he is young, fast and skillful and very good in front of goal.
Have u guys noticed that some coaches are now playing some of our boys in positions they aren’t used to same way Mourinho ruined mikels career. In Russia, Duke a natural winger is being utilized as a striker same thing today when unai emery played chukwueze as a striker, hopefully this is strategic. Sometimes when our boys are not performing, it could be due to multitude of reasons. Let’s cut our boys some slack. I know everyone criticizing the players and the coaching crew want the best for SE but we need to put ourselves sometimes in these guys shoes. You and I know that if the people ruling 9ja can put half the efforts these guys put to their profession, 9ja go turn Anerica overnight. Just saying
…@Proudlynaija. Good talk my brother. We must criticize our players in ways to motivate them to do better not demoralize them. These players read our comments on forum like this and we have to state things in very mature and constructive way.
All of you people asking why onuachu was not called up for a “friendly” are just clueless and lost in oblivion. For crying out loud, this dude was given ample time to stamp his authority in the eagles. It even got to the extent that some of you were asking questions as to what rohr saw in the guy that should always guarantee him a sure bet invitation to the national team. It all happened here and it was a hot subject that was exhaustively discussed here. Eventually, rohr decided to leave him to regain his lost form whilst shifting his beam on other players in the pecking order which is what a reasonable person that wants results would do. Secondly, this is a friendly match where the coach would like to try out a few players and assess their performance to see how they can blend in to the cream of the team. But some of u want your ancestors to be included just like the man who calls himself omo9ja does. He said rohr didnt know how to use onuachu. Is there any other way onuachu should be used that rohr didn’t or maybe, rohr shouldve used him as a center back other than a striker. Onuachu will definitely be given a chance once again bcs he’s bouncing back and when maybe when he features for the eagles and performs below par ( which I don’t pray for) you’ll find same people asking why he wasn’t invited ask why he was given a shirt ahead of other players and if this happens, na thunder from amadioha forest go strike those people. Ndi ara.
Oakfield, you crack me up, good talk but honestly on current form would u have invited Desser ahead of Onuachu? Base your decision on form and not emotion. Drey said it best the last time when he asked a bunch of questions, one of such question was when GR sent out the invitation. I think given Desser a nod ahead of Onuachu is done to due to the guy’s last season performance and the fact that the guy has publicly said he wanted to play for 9ja, bcos it will be hard to say based on recent performance that Desser is more deserving than Onuachu. He may not have played really well in the 9ja Jersey but if playing regularly and scoring goals is the yardstick for invitation then I would say Onuachu is more deserving than Desser. Some players take longer than others to settle down in the national team due to many factors (new to the team, coach’s style of play, players themself, etc). I am not sure but the number of matches onuachu has played is not more than 5 or 6 but I could be wrong and he has a goal to show for it. That’s not a bad return even tho I would like him to do better. He was not too good during AFCON does not mean the next time he is invited he wont do better. People would argue Nwakaeme nko that was only given 2 games, I think he too should’ve been given more time as well but his age didnt help his case as GR is looking for young and hungry strikers which bodes well for the SE. I personally hope all our players, those invited or not keep working hard and improving at dia respective clubs and replicate that form in the SE when invited. My thought
@prouldly9ja(the kickofnigeran veteran), we are saying same thing. Onuachu would definitely get anoda chance once again but other guys need to be assessed. Me myself would want him to be given another chance but wetin go vex me na wen these people go come dy ask nonsense questions maybe on a day that wasn’t his day. Na that time thunder go find contract.
Broda, I hear u and i hail oooo.