Victor Udoh has found a new club months after his Southampton contract was mutually terminated.
The forward only joined the Saints in January of this year, and slotted immediately into the youth set-up following his arrival from Royal Antwerp. He scored 2 times and found an additional assist in 7 appearances for the under-21s setup at St. Mary’s and was on course for more promising things as the club’s relegation into the Championship became likelier.
European Adventure Resumes
However, a decision was made in the summer to terminate Udoh’s contract 3 years early, allowing him to explore other first-team options rather than fight for his place under new management. Now, the Nigerian forward has found a new side in the Czech 2nd division side SK Dynamo České Budějovice, who were relegated from the top flight last season after a dismal campaign not too dissimilar from Southampton’s.
The South Bohemian side achieved just 5 points across their entire league campaign and failed to win a single game. They have got off to a slightly better start in the division below, sitting on 14 points after 13 games, putting them 12th out of 16 clubs.
According to the Daily Echo, Dynamo did not have to pay any fee to secure Udoh’s services due to the terms of the forward’s release this summer. This will be his third side in Europe after arriving on the continent in 2023 from the Nigerian leagues as an 18-year-old.
What Could Have Been For The Saints
It was only early days, but Southampton clearly had some faith in Victor Udoh to hand him a 3-and-a-half-year contract in January. He started to deliver on those expectations too, with 3 goal involvements in 7 games in what is a fairly competitive Premier League 2 for youth players.
With a full reset of the striking department this summer following the exits of Paul Onuachu, Ben Brereton Diaz and Juan, perhaps there could have been a place for Udoh to take a step up and help Will Still’s side in early cup competition matches and the occasional substitute appearance. But for Udoh, it seems he wanted more game time and heading elsewhere would certainly enable him to do that.
