Super Eagles striker Paul Onuachu is closing in on another set of milestones as Trabzonspor prepare to host Çaykur Rizespor in Saturday’s Turkish Super Lig encounter at Papara Park.
The towering forward has been in sensational form in recent weeks, scoring in seven consecutive league matches and nine straight games across all competitions.
His remarkable run has already secured him a place in the club’s history books as the foreign player with the longest scoring streak for Trabzonspor.
The 31-year-old currently tops the Turkish Super Lig scoring chart with 20 goals in 22 appearances and has added two more goals in the Turkish Cup, taking his total for the season to 22.
However, Onuachu now stands on the brink of another landmark.
Having scored 17 goals during his first spell with Trabzonspor, the Nigerian forward is just one goal away from reaching 40 goals for the club.
If he scores against Rizespor, he will become only the third foreign player to pass that milestone for the Turkish side, joining fellow Nigerian Anthony Nwakaeme, who scored 51 goals, and Georgian legend Shota Arveladze, who leads the list with 85.
Should Onuachu score five more goals in the remaining nine league matches, he would surpass the tally of Alexander Sørloth and equal Arveladze’s record for the most goals by a foreign player in a single league season for Trabzonspor.
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Arveladze set the benchmark with 25 goals in the 1995/96 campaign, while Sørloth scored 24 during the 2019/20 season.
Saturday’s match also carries significant implications in the title race.
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A victory for Trabzonspor would see them move level on points with second-placed Fenerbahçe, who suffered a shock 2–0 defeat to Fatih Karagümrük on Friday.
