Ebere Paul Onuachu (born 28 May 1994) is a Nigerian professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a striker for club

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

and the Nigeria national team. Onuachu has won League titles in Denmark and Belgium, and while in the latter country was voted Belgian Footballer of the Year and won the country's top scoring Golden Bull trophy.

Club career

Midtjylland

Onuachu moved to Danish club

FC Midtjylland Football Club Midtjylland (, "Central Jutland") is a Danish professional football club based in Herning and Ikast. The club is the result of a merger between Ikast FS and Herning Fremad. Midtjylland competes in the Danish Superliga, which they ...

in 2012 on a scholarship from their affiliate team in Nigeria, Ebedei. He was a prolific scorer for their youth team, and made his first-team debut in the Cup later that year, before making his league debut in December 2012. In June 2013 he signed a new three-year contract with the club, before extending it for a further three-years in August 2015. In early 2015 he was loaned to

Vejle BK Vejle Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in Vejle in Jutland. Formed in 1891, the club is one of the most successful clubs in Danish football history, having won the Danish championship five times and the Danish cup title six ...

, before returning to FC Midtjylland ahead of the 2015–16 season. Onuachu helped Midtjylland to the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga (, ) is a professional association football league in Denmark and the highest level of the Danish football league system. The league is currently contested by 12 teams each year, with 2 teams relegated. It is the current ...

title twice, in

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

and

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

, and scored the winner against

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in Midtjylland's home last-32 first-leg of the

2015–16 UEFA Europa League The 2015–16 UEFA Europa League was the 45th season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the seventh season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The final was played between Liverpoo ...

, but two goals from United debutant

Marcus Rashford Marcus Rashford (born 31 October 1997) is an English professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa, on Loan (association football), lo ...

in the second-leg a week later at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

saw the English side win 5–1 on the night and 6–3 on aggregate.

Genk

In August 2019 he signed for then reigning

Belgian Pro League The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023 ...

champions

Genk Genk () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality and City status in Belgium, city located in the Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of Limburg (Belgium), Limburg near Hasselt. The municipality comprises only the town of Genk itself. It ...

, who had just appointed

Felice Mazzù Felice Mazzù (born 12 March 1966) is a Belgian professional Manager (association football), football manager who last was the head coach of Sint-Truidense V.V., Sint-Truiden. Mazzù has built a reputation for improving the status of smaller c ...

as coach. At 2.01m tall, Onuachu was seen as being an "atypical" transfer. Onauchu made his debut on 1 September 2019 as a late stoppage-time substitute in a 1–1 draw against

Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional football club based in Bruges, Belgium. It was founded in 1891 and its home ground is the Jan Breydel Stadium, which has a capacity of 29,042. They pl ...

, and would score in his next two league games, starting in both a 2–1 defeat against

Sporting Charleroi Royal Charleroi Sporting Club, often simply known as Charleroi or Sporting Charleroi, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Charleroi, in the province of Hainaut. Charleroi plays in the Belgian Pro League. Their curr ...

and 3–1 win over Oostende. Onuachu's second full season at Genk would prove spectacular, finishing top scorer with 33 league goals (35 in all competitions), winning him the Golden Bull for leading Belgian Pro League goalscorer, a feat that saw him named Pro League Player of the Year for 2020–21, and 2021

Belgian Golden Shoe In association football, the Belgian Golden Shoe (, , German: ''Goldener Schuh'') is an award given in Belgium at the beginning of each civil year to the best footballer of the Belgian Pro League for the past year. The trophy is sponsored by the B ...

winner for the best footballer of the calendar year. Onuachu also won the

Ebony Shoe The Ebony Shoe award (Dutch: ''Ebbenhouten schoen'', French: ''Soulier d'ébène'') is a association football, football award in Belgium given annually to the best African or African origin player in the Belgian Pro League. The jury is composed ...

for best African player in Belgium for 2020–21. Onuachu scored against all 17 league opponents, netting in four of the six Champions Play-off games, helping propel Genk to runners-up spot in the

2020–21 Belgian First Division A The 2020–21 Belgian First Division A was the 118th season of top-tier football in Belgium. As part of a proposal by the Jupiler Pro League's board of directors accepted by the General Assembly on 15 May 2020, the 2020–21 season would involve ...

, and winning the 2021 Belgian Cup Final 2–1 against

Standard Liege Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

. His haul of 33 goals was the highest in the Belgian top flight since

Erwin Vandenbergh Erwin Vandenbergh (; born 26 January 1959) is a Belgian retired professional footballer who played as a forward. Between 1979 and 1991, he finished six times as topscorer of the Belgian First Division (a still standing record), with three clu ...

European Golden Boot The European Golden Shoe, also known as the European Golden Boot, is an award that is presented each season to the player with the most points in league matches from the top division of a European national league. The trophy is a sculpture of ...

-winning 39-goal campaign for Lierse in 1980, and broke

Wesley Sonck Wesley Sonck (born 9 August 1978) is a Belgian professional association football, football manager and former player who manages the Belgium national under-19 football team, Belgium U19 national team. He played as a striker (association football ...

's one-season Genk club goals record of 30, set in 2002–03. The following season saw Genk's league form suffer due to early-season defensive frailty as Cup-winning coach

John van den Brom Joseph Anthonius ''John ''van den Brom (born 4 October 1966) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player who is the current manager of Eerste Divisie club Vitesse. As a player, he played for Vitesse, Ajax, De Graafschap and Is ...

was sacked mid-season and replaced by

Bernd Storck Bernd Storck, HOM (born 25 January 1963) is a German former professional footballer and a professional football manager. He is the current manager of Cercle Brugge in the Belgian Pro League, appointed for a second time following a brief second ...

. Genk reached the European play-offs, finishing behind Gent in the table, finishing sixth overall. Onuachu was third-highest scorer in the league for 2021–22 with 21 goals, behind

Deniz Undav Deniz Undav (born 19 July 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for club VfB Stuttgart and the Germany national team. Club career Early career (2002–2020) Undav, who grew up in Achim, played for TSV Achim before jo ...

of Union Saint Gilloise on 26 and Michael Frey of

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club (commonly referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp) is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Antwerp. They compete in the Belgian Pro League, the top flight of Belgian football. Founded in 1 ...

on 24. In scoring four goals against

on 4 November 2022, Onuachu became the first Genk player to achieve this feat since Sonck, in 2003. Onuachu scored 16 league goals for Genk up to the end of January 2023, with Racing ten points clear of Union Saint Gilloise at the top of the

. After expressing frustration previously at being unable to secure a move to one of the five richest European leagues, Onuachu said at the start of January 2023 he was determined to help Genk stay top and win the title. Onuachu scored twice in his final game for Genk, a 4–0 win over bottom club Seraing, to once more propel him to top spot in the Pro League scoring charts, as finally a major bid was made for the Nigerian striker from a club in a major league.

Southampton

On 1 February 2023, Onuachu swapped title-chasing Genk for relegation-threatened

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club

on a three-and-a-half-year contract. On 4 February 2023, Onuachu made his first Premier League appearance for Southampton in a 3–0 defeat against

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

, replacing

Mohamed Elyounoussi Mohamed Amine Elyounoussi (; born 4 August 1994), nicknamed Moi (), is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or Winger for Danish Superliga club Copenhagen. Born in Morocco, he plays for the Norway national team. Early life Elyou ...

at half-time. On 11 September 2023, Onuachu joined

Trabzonspor Trabzonspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Trabzon, located in Black Sea region, northeastern Turkey. Established in 1967 through the merger of several local clubs, Trabzonspor is one of the most prominent A ...

on a season-long loan. He scored on his debut for the club on 17 September 2023 in a 3–0 victory against

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

. On 28 April 2024, Onuachu scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory against Gazientep. Onuachu scored his first goal for Southampton on 19 January 2025 in a 3–2

defeat against

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

International career

Onuachu was called up to the Nigeria under-23 national team in February 2015. In March 2019 he received his first call-up to the Nigerian senior team. On 26 March 2019, Onuachu scored his first goal for Nigeria in a friendly match against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. The goal was scored within the first ten seconds of the game, and the fastest ever scored for Nigeria. Following the goal Onuachu was heralded as the "toast of Nigerian football", with "his coach, team-mates, journalists and fans talking about him". He was selected to the Nigeria squad for the

2019 Africa Cup of Nations The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (abbreviated as AFCON 2019 or CAN 2019), known as the Total SE, Total 2019 Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, the biennial international men's associati ...

. He played in Nigeria's 1–0 win over

Burundi Burundi, officially the Republic of Burundi, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is located in the Great Rift Valley at the junction between the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa, with a population of over 14 million peop ...

, as the Super Eagles reached the semi-finals, losing 2–1 to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

in the last four, then beating

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

1–0 in the bronze-medal match. On 12 January 2024, he was called up to the Nigerian squad for the

2023 Africa Cup of Nations The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, known in short as the 2023 AFCON or CAN 2023 and for sponsor (commercial), sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, was the 34th edition of the biennial Africa Cup of Nations tournam ...

in Ivory Coast, replacing injured

Umar Sadiq Umar Sadiq Mesbah (born 2 February 1997) is a Nigerian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for La Liga club Valencia CF, Valencia, on loan from Real Sociedad, and the Nigeria nati ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Onuachu goal.''

Honours

Midtjylland *

: 2014–15, 2017–18 *

Danish Cup The Danish Cup (; often referred to as Pokalen) is the official "single-elimination tournament, knockout" cup competition in Danish football, run by the Danish Football Association. The cup has been contested annually since 1955. The winner will ...

: 2018–19 Genk *

Belgian Cup The Belgian Cup (; ; ) is the main knockout football competition in Belgium, run by the Royal Belgian FA. The competition started in 1908 with provincial selections as the "Belgian Provinces Cup". Starting from 1912 only actual clubs were allowed ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

Nigeria *

Africa Cup of Nations The Africa Cup of Nations, commonly abbreviated as AFCON and officially known as the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations for sponsorship reasons, is the main biennial international men's association football competition in Africa. It is s ...

runner-up:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

; third place:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

Individual * Belgian First Division A Top goalscorer:

* Belgian Professional Footballer of the Year:

: 2021 *

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

Team of the Year:

: 2021 Orders * Order_of_the_Niger_civil_division_ribbon

Member of the

Order of the Niger The Order of the Niger (OON) is the second highest Award, national award in Nigeria. It was instituted in 1963 and is junior to the Order of the Federal Republic, the highest order of merit in the country. Award The two highest honours, the Gr ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onuachu, Paul 1994 births Living people Footballers from Owerri Nigerian men's footballers Men's association football forwards Nigeria men's international footballers 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players Danish Superliga players Danish 1st Division players Belgian Pro League players Premier League players Süper Lig players F.C. Ebedei players FC Midtjylland players Vejle Boldklub players K.R.C. Genk players Southampton F.C. players Trabzonspor footballers Nigerian expatriate men's footballers Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Denmark Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England Nigerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Members of the Order of the Niger 21st-century Nigerian sportsmen