The 7-figure transfer fee Southampton are set to receive for Paul Onuachu - they're making a big loss | OneFootball

The Saints are set to lose their best performing number nine from last season.

Southampton have agreed a deal to sell striker Paul Onuachu to Turkish side Trabzonspor.

The 31-year-old, who arrived at St Mary's two-and-a-half years ago, is set to make his second, but this time permanent, departure from the Saints to join the same club that he spent the 2023/24 campaign with.

Onuachu thrived with Trabzonspor the last time that he played for them on loan. He scored 14 times in 20 appearances in the Super Lig; 10 more goals than he scored during his entire run with the Saints.

Southampton agree Paul Onuachu sale to Turkish outfit Trabzonspor

Southampton are going to make a significant loss on the six-foot-seven forward. The man that was bought by Nathan Jones in January 2023 for £18 million, plus add-ons, is going to join the Turkish side for €8 million (£6.8 million), according to Fabrizio Romano.

Personal terms are reportedly yet to be set in stone, but everything is moving in the right direction for a change of scenery for Onuachu.

He has been linked with a move to Turkey many times since he first moved to Trabzonspor in September 2023. The former Champions League and Europa League club were reported to be interested in a double Southampton deal, with central defender Jan Bednarek also being eyed. He is reported to have a £6 million release clause, as per Gazete Unebakis.

Despite his struggles in red and white, the Nigerian forward actually led the club in scoring in the Premier League last term with a meager four to his name. The man that brought him over to England was sacked in the month following Onuachu's arrival, and he never settled into English football.

His sale comes as part of what is expected to be a big summer of outgoings at St Mary's. Chairman Dragan Solak is hoping for £100 million in sales from his English talent - Tyler Dibling, Taylor Harwood-Bellis and Aaron Ramsdale - alone.

Paul Onuachu needed to be sold this summer by Southampton - it's best for him to move on

Southampton will reluctantly let those players go. For Onuachu, they probably won't be as sad about his eventual departure to Trabzonspor. New boss Will Still will look to implement a high-energy pressing system that the 31-year-old, with his lack of mobility, wouldn't be particularly suited to.

The club are also working on a deal for a striker that technical director Johannes Spor is going hard after. The chairman revealed this, plus their intent to sign a creative midfielder, earlier this week.