18-GOAL STAR SAID HE ACCEPTED A £7 MILLION MLS TRANSFER AFTER JUDGING LEEDS AND SOUTHAMPTON
After admitting that he had rejected Championship teams Leeds United and Southampton, Joseph Paintsil has now agreed to a £7 million move to LA Galaxy. In actuality, The Saints may only be to blame for their own failure to get the KRC Genk talisman in the summer of 2023.
Who could blame the winger for saying “thanks but no thanks” when Joseph Paintsil saw how poorly Southampton handled the adaptation of Paul Onuachu, his former teammate from Genk, who was prolific in Belgium but starved of playing time at St Mary’s?
After the transfer market closed in September 2023, Paintsil informed Het Laatste Nieuws, “There were many possibilities.” Paintsil also declined a chance to play for Leeds United, another massive team in the Championship.
“I quickly realized that I did not want to leave Genk for Southampton or Leeds United when my agent told me I could go to those teams.
“You know, each player has expectations. I want to be a Premier League player someday. or in one of the top five European leagues, at least.
“They couldn’t persuade me, but I don’t want to say that Southampton and Leeds are bad teams.”
Paintsil presumably believes that a stay across the Atlantic will allow him to fulfill his “dream” of playing for a team in one of Europe’s top divisions. After turning down offers from Leeds and Southampton, the 26-year-old Ghanaian international signed a contract with LA Galaxy of the Major League Soccer seven months ago.
Given that both Leeds and Southampton are in a strong position to return to the Premier League right away—the former having won eight straight games coming into Friday’s crucial matchup with league leaders Leicester City—it appears highly likely that Daniel Farke’s team or Russell Martin’s Saints will be joining England’s elite division far sooner than Paintsil.
