West Ham targeting Paul Onuachu | OneFootball

If Thursday night was a trial, then mooted West Ham target Paul Onachu would have hardly passed with flying colours.

In fact, his performance may be enough to put new Irons head of recruitment Rob Newman completely off making a move as the 27-year-old struggled against the east London outfit in the Europa League.

The Hammers dominated Belgian outfit Genk and came out on top with a 3-0 victory at the London Stadium to maintain their 100% record in the competition.

According to the Daily Mail, West Ham are among many clubs interested in a move for the Nigeria international, who is thought to be valued at around £20m.

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There is said to be competition from Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, whilst Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid have also been linked by the report.

Well, luckily for David Moyes and co, they got to witness his credentials firsthand, and on that basis alone, he could struggle to have much of an impact in England as the Irons absolutely silenced him with their two backup central defenders.

Onuachu may have bagged 11 goals in 15 appearances beforehand, providing a total of 56 goals in only 85 games for the Jupiler Pro League outfit, but there is a vast difference in the quality of opposition.

The £19.8m-rated forward, who was once dubbed a “goal king” by former Wimbledon star John Fashanu, looked rather poor against the Irons.

Both Issa Diop and Craig Dawson dealt with his 6 foot 7 stature and usually impressive aerial ability (he has won 3.6 aerial duels per league game this term) with aplomb.

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Can you name all 10 ex-Hammers? First up... He assisted the first goal at the London Stadium but made only 8 appearances for the Irons, who is he?

Havard Nordtveit Gokhan Tore Pedro Obiang Jonathan Calleri

Onuachu was hooked after 73 minutes, having failed to make any sort of impact. As per SofaScore, his two attempts on goal were fired off target, with one of those a particularly weak effort with what was a golden chance for the visitors, whilst the towering striker also won only 50% of his battles in the air and managed just one successful dribble from three attempts.

It’s no secret that Moyes needs another frontline addition to help provide backup to Michail Antonio, who was not even in the squad on Thursday night, but on that midweek showing, the answer may not be the Genk talisman.

Newman must steer West Ham clear of the 27-year-old or else risk making a major transfer blunder.