Genk’s director of football, Dimitri de Conde has named Paul Onuachu and his teammates Junya Ito as the two top contenders for the golden shoe award.

The Super Eagles forward won the award last season by scoring 33 goals in 38 league games.

However, the lanky forward is experiencing a difficult spell in front of goals this season, but he managed to contribute 10 goals from 15 league matches.

The 27-year-old has not scored a goal for more than a month now, but believes, he’s still a major contender.

“I definitely see two contenders for the Golden Shoe with us. Paul Onuachu broke all the records that could be broken last season. He deserves the Shoe for that alone. Despite his lesser period, he has already scored 12 goals this season. ”

Meanwhile, most of Onuachu’s goals came after Junya Ito’s preparatory work and Conde believes the Japanese are finally showing his worth this season.

“Junya is the eternally undervalued player, but it scares everyone. Junya is very important to us and was a big part of our cup win. Due to the language barrier, he is less outspoken with us, but that does not affect his future.” De Conde told Belgian news outlet voetbalkrant.com