Southampton went over the line in their attempt to sign Joseph Paintsil - Genk Technical Director

KRC Genk's Technical Director, Dimitri De Conde, has addressed the failed transfer deal of Ghanaian winger Joseph Paintsil to Southampton.

The pacy winger had been strongly linked with a move to the English Championship from the Belgian Jupiler Pro League team.

However, the agreement fell through, leading to the cancellation of the transfer. The 25-year-old Paintsil has recorded one goal and three assists in 10 games across all competitions this season.

During an interview with Het Belang van Limburg, De Conde also noted that a proposed swap involving Paintsil and Paul Onuachu did not materialize.

Onuachu had made the move from Genk to Southampton during the January transfer window of the 2022-2023 season.

“I immediately knew that it would be almost impossible to involve Paintsil in an exchange deal with Onuachu but Southampton kept pushing until they went a step too far for me.”

Paintsil had a breakout 2022-2023 season where he scored 18 goals and added 14 assists to his tally in 39 games as Genk made a strong push for the Jupiler Pro League title Royal Antwerp ended up winning.