FORMER Portsmouth forward and Nigerian international John Utaka has backed loaned-out Saints forward Paul Onuachu to score 25 goals this season in Turkey.

Onuachu failed to score a single goal during his 12 appearances for Southampton having joined the club for £15.5 million on deadline day in January.

The former Genk striker was signed by Nathan Jones prior to his sacking and was only handed 404 minutes in the Premier League. 

The 29 year old has since hit the ground running on loan at Trabzonspor, scoring six goals in his first eight games.

His goals have helped the 2021-22 Turkish champions to fourth in the league and his goalscoring prowess isn't lost on one former striker.

Speaking to Turkish outlet Spor Arena, Utaka said: “Paul Onuachu is a prolific goalscorer and a very good centre-forward.

"I think he will make a big impact in Trabzonspor. Scoring six goals in eight matches shows that he is a quality striker and shows superior performance.

"He is a technically very good player with great potential. Onuachu can score at least 25 goals this season. I was a striker myself, so I know a great striker when I see one.

"As for his transfer to Southampton, I think things did not go as he wanted there, but now he is finding the net again.

"We can see from the number of goals he scored that he undoubtedly has no problems scoring goals."