Liverpool have been offered the chance to sign Genk striker Paul Onuachu. The 27-year-old has been part of the Belgian side since 2019 and has racked up 46 goals in 72 appearances for the club.
As per Mirror Football, Genk technical director Dimitri de Conde believes that Onuachu could be a good fit in the Liverpool side and the Reds could use a player like him presently. The Nigerian international has three years remaining on his current deal at the club.
He moved to the club from the Danish side Midtjylland, where he scored 74 goals in 181 games. He has also represented his national side on 13 occasions, scoring thrice.
Paul Onuachu: Should Klopp make a move?
Paul Onuachu had his best season in club football last campaign as he scored 35 goals in 41 appearances for the club in all competitions. Onuachu is a towering figure, standing at 6’7″ tall and makes good use of his height as 11 of his 33 goals last season were scored with his head.
But, Onuachu is not just a player who is good in the air; he is a confident and quick dribbler with the ball at his feet and loves taking on opposition defenders. The Nigerian also likes to link with the midfielders and fellow attackers and play through balls when in good positions on the pitch. He is an effective target man who can hold the ball up, use his head to get goals and assists, while also being clever enough to make passes to his teammates in the final third.
Paul Onuachu could be a useful backup option for Liverpool, perhaps as an impact substitute off the bench, or as a Plan B when teams sit deep and defend. Liverpool have two of the best attacking full-backs in the Premier League in Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andrew Robertson, both of whom are capable of putting in accurate crosses into the box with frightening regularity.
The likes of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mohamed Salah aren’t particularly good aerially, which means that the full-backs have to play in angled balls into the box. The addition of a strong and imposing figure like Onuachu could allow Liverpool to play balls directly to the top and hope that he gets flick-ons towards Salah, Mane or Diogo Jota.
Paul Onuachu is also not a one-trick pony and is a neat and composed finisher in the box. The Reds have been searching for a centre-forward who can get them goals consistently, which Firmino hasn’t been able to do lately. Signing the Nigerian, though, will be a gamble as he hasn’t played in any of the top leagues in Europe. But, he may be available for a bargain which makes this a gamble worth taking for Liverpool who have previously been rewarded for taking unexpected but shrewd calls in the market.