Usually, when scouting players or merely just watching a player, comparisons can be drawn with other footballers around to explain to someone the player’s style of play and what to expect from them.
Hence why often when an exciting and agile winger comes on the scene, we hear claims of the ‘next Messi’ and the ‘next Ronaldo’ among others.
However, there are times when a player is so unique and different from the rest, these comparisons are extremely hard to come by.
This is certainly the case with Genk centre-forward Paul Onuachu.
The Nigerian striker stands at 6ft 7 inches tall, which is a truly fascinating sight when watching him play.
He is currently one of the most prolific goal-scorers in European football.
This season, he has managed to bag himself 37 goals in 43 appearances in all competitions for club and country, which has seen him on the news regarding a potential future transfer to Arsenal in the coming months when the summer window opens.
The 26-year-old has been truly incredible this season for Genk under John van den Brom and has been one of the major players for them, if not the major player, in their race to overtake Club Brugge and claim the Belgian Pro League title.
This article will be a tactical analysis of the centre-forward in the form of a scout report.
It will be an analysis of Onuachu’s style of play as well as looking at how he fits into Genk’s impressive tactics.
It must be noted that this article was written and edited prior to Thursday afternoons game against Royal Antwerp so some of the stats may be outdated and perhaps his goal tally has increased.
Paul Onuachu Style of play
As already stated, Onuachu is 6ft 7 inches tall, or 201cm, which is a monstrous and terrifying height for any centre-back defending against the striker.
His height gives him a massive aerial advantage over almost every opposition player he faces.
He also weighs 205lbs or 93kg, equating to roughly 14½ stone, meaning he is also extremely big physically, which gives him a major advantage against defending players much as his height does.
With his combined height and strength, Onuachu is one of the most incredible footballers to watch because of his major physical superiority over defenders.
However, the right-footer is not merely just a physical presence in the box used as a sort of battering ram against opposition players, he is also a very talented centre-forward and his all-round play is quite good.
The issue with the striker is that he is not very gifted on the ball because of his attributes and can look quite awkward at times, although he does still have a strange and innate ability to keep hold of the ball as he is extremely difficult to tackle.
Looking at his heat map, we can see that he is not just a number 9 who remains between the sticks, although this is the area of the pitch where most of his involvement is.
Nonetheless, the Nigerian centre-forward also drops deep quite a bit and looks to receive the ball to feet.
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