The bid is the second Saudi offer for the 32 year old this calendar year, following Al-Ahli’s rejected approach in January, and Trabzonspor’s head coach has made no secret of the fact that he would prefer a different profile of striker next season.
Trabzonspor have knocked back a €11 million offer from a Saudi Arabian club for Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu, according to Turkish outlet Takagazete, as reported by FootballInNigeria.com.ng. The bid was not sufficient to move the Black Sea club, who are understood to be holding out for a figure more in line with what they believe Onuachu is worth after his outstanding individual campaign in 2025/26. The unnamed Saudi club becomes the second Gulf side to have a bid rejected for the Nigerian this year, following Al-Ahli’s unsuccessful approach during the January transfer window.
The timing of this latest offer lands in an interesting moment for both club and player. Onuachu is currently with the Super Eagles in Lisbon, preparing for Wednesday’s international friendly against Portugal, but his future at Trabzonspor is far from settled. The club’s president Ertuğrul Doğan confirmed this week that the club have received bids for seven players in the current window and expect to sell one or two of them. Onuachu is not the only name on the radar, Ivory Coast international Christ Inao Oulaï and Brazilian midfielder Felipe Augusto have also been identified as potential departures but he is clearly among those whose future is being weighed against the right price. Those tracking the summer transfer market can check today’s Bet9ja promo code page for the latest Nigerian transfer odds as the window opens properly in July.
Tekke’s Position: A Different Type of Striker Wanted
The most revealing detail in the story is the position of head coach Fatih Tekke. The former Turkish international, who took charge of Trabzonspor in 2025, is said to be open to Onuachu’s departure and is actively looking to recruit a striker with different physical characteristics, specifically a more mobile forward who can press from the front and contribute to the team’s defensive structure in and out of possession. That is a pointed description of what Onuachu is not. The Nigerian is 2.01 metres tall, built for aerial dominance, clever movement inside the box, and penalty area finishing. He is not the kind of forward who closes down fullbacks or wins the ball in the opponent’s half.
It is not a criticism that set of qualities produced 22 Süper Lig goals and the Turkish Cup in 2025/26. But it is a clear signal that if Trabzonspor find their preferred striker, Onuachu’s departure becomes more likely regardless of whether the Saudi bids reach the right number. The €11m offer was rejected, but the door to his exit is open at the right price. Super Eagles fans following Onuachu’s transfer situation alongside his Portugal preparations can use the Bet9ja YOHAIG welcome code for the latest football betting markets.
What Onuachu’s Season Means for His Valuation
Trabzonspor’s willingness to reject €11m reflects a genuine belief that the market for Onuachu should be higher. His Transfermarkt valuation sits at approximately €12m, making the Saudi offer marginally below that benchmark, but the club’s internal valuation is likely higher still after a season where he was the joint Süper Lig top scorer. Scoring 22 league goals while sharing top scorer honours with Uzbekistan international Eldor Shomurodov, winning the Süper Lig Goal of the Season award for a stunning overhead kick against Fatih Karagumruk, and then scoring both goals in the Turkish Cup final victory over Konyaspor in May that is a body of work that a selling club uses to justify holding out for a premium.
Onuachu joined Trabzonspor permanently last summer on a contract running to June 2028, having previously impressed on a season-long loan in 2023/24. At 32, he is entering the phase of his career where a move to the Saudi Pro League with the financial rewards that come with it makes increasing sense. Al-Ahli bid in January and were rebuffed. Another club has now bid in June and been rebuffed again. The question is whether a third offer, at a number closer to €15m or above, finally unlocks the deal. If Trabzonspor can replace him with the mobile pressing forward Tekke wants and collect a fee that covers that cost, there is very little reason to keep him. For Nigerian football followers wanting to track Onuachu’s next move and stay updated on Super Eagles news, FootballInNigeria’s Bet9ja promo code page carries the latest odds and offers heading into the summer window.
📌 Did You Know?
- Paul Onuachu is the sixth player in Trabzonspor’s history to finish as the club’s top scorer in the Süper Lig. The club have won the Turkish top-flight title seven times, with their most recent championship coming in 2021/22 under Abdullah Avcı the season before Onuachu’s first loan stint at the club.
- Onuachu’s contract at Trabzonspor runs until June 2028, meaning the club are under no pressure to sell and can hold out for their valuation. At 32, however, a high value move to the Saudi Pro League becomes progressively more attractive for the player as each window passes without a resolution.
- Al-Ahli, who reportedly submitted the first rejected bid for Onuachu in January 2026, are one of the four Saudi clubs bankrolled by the Public Investment Fund (PIF) alongside Al-Nassr, Al-Hilal, and Al-Ittihad. A return bid from the same club in the summer window would be consistent with their recruitment pattern of revisiting targets after initial offers are turned down.
- Trabzonspor head coach Fatih Tekke, who is open to selling Onuachu, is a former striker himself. As a player, Tekke scored 82 goals in 203 appearances for Trabzonspor over two spells at the club between 1999 and 2012, making him one of the most beloved figures in the club’s history. His preference for a more mobile striker reflects his own playing style he was more of a pressing, link-up forward than a target man.
- Onuachu won the Belgian Football Player of the Year award in 2020/21 during his time at Genk, where he scored 33 goals in 40 league appearances that season, one of the most prolific individual campaigns by any player in Belgian football history. That form is what originally attracted Premier League clubs, with Southampton signing him in January 2023.
- The Saudi Pro League’s transfer window for foreign players typically runs from June 16 to September 2, giving interested clubs from the Gulf several months to negotiate before the deadline. The early June rejection of the €11m bid suggests the buying club may well return with an improved offer before the window closes.
- Onuachu’s overhead kick for Trabzonspor against Fatih Karagumruk, which won the 2025/26 Süper Lig Goal of the Season award, was struck from approximately 14 metres out a remarkable effort for a 2.01-metre striker and one that effectively dismantled the perception that he is purely a static, box dwelling forward.
