Paul Onuachu predicts his possible successor for coveted Belgian Golden Boot

Nigeria striker Paul Onuachu believes Simon Mignolet in the favourate to land the 2022 Belgian Golden Shoe this season.

The Belgian Golden Shoe is the award given to the best player in the Belgian Pro League and Onuachu became the first African player to claim the prestigious Belgian Golden Shoe in January this year.

Having won the coveted award in January 2022, Onuachu feels the former Liverpool goalkeeper Mignolet has a big chance.

“For me, Simon Mignolet is the big favourite. He has had a very good year and is an excellent goalkeeper,” Onuachu told Het Nieuwsblad in an interview.

“He saved a lot of points for Club Brugge. There is also Tarik Tissoudali from AA Gent who has a chance, I think. Although I fear for him that his knee injury will affect his final result too much,” he added.

The 34-year-old goalkeeper led his Club Brugge side to the 2021/22 Belgian Pro League title, he kept 16 clean sheets in that campaign, the joint most in the league.

Club Brugge are far away from Onuachu’s Genk on the league table this season, with diminishing chances of defending their trophy but this would not halt Mignolet’s chances as the award considers the whole calendar year.

Meanwhile, Onuachu is not convinced with his chances as he feels he has not done enough to win the prize for the second time, having won scoring 33 goals in the run-up to Genk’s second-place finish in the Jupiler League.

“I don’t think I will make it myself. If I get on the podium, I think it will be second or third.”

This edition could be the last that Onuachu will experience at Cegeka Arena. His contract expires at the end of the season, and a move abroad could suffice in January as he is one of the hottest strikers in Europe at the moment.

The winner of the award would be announced on January 25, 2023.