Club Brugge hero turned pundit Gert Verheyen has heaped praise on Paul Onuachu, revealing that the Racing Genk star is the only number 9 living up to expectations in the Belgian First Division A so far this season.

The Nigeria national teamer is the outright top scorer in the division with 12 goals after bagging a brace in the impressive 5-1 road win against Cercle Brugge this past weekend.

Onuachu has consistently found the net this term, netting against nine different teams; OH Leuven, Standard Liege, Gent and Sint-Truiden are the teams he didn't score against when on the pitch.

"Just take a look at how many of our big clubs are out of luck with their number 9. The exception is Racing Genk. Mbokani also scores, but is still in a dip," Verheyen said in his column on Het Nieuwsblad.

"What Onuachu does very well is always aim. His positional play is excellent. His decisions whether or not to come for the man are very often the right one. That's something you can't learn."

He added : "Like that first goal against Cercle Brugge, that deviation on Ito's low cross. There he didn't make the logical choice, but opted for the far corner. Something Didillon did not expect.

"Onuachu pays off as center forward in a 3-4 -3, flanked by Ito and Bongonda. It is that trio that helped Genk achieve results".

If Onuachu continues to perform in this manner, he could surpass his personal record for goals in a single season; the 23 he netted in all competitions for FC Midtjylland over the course of the 2016-17 campaign.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel