Rangers are close to making Umar Sadiq Steven Gerrard‘s eight signing of the summer, according to reports.
But just why have the Ibrox club moved for the unknown Nigerian striker?
Gerrard has already added Jamie Murphy, Scott Arfield, Allan McGregor, Connor Goldson, Nikola Katic, Ovie Ejaria and Jon Flanagan to his squad.
And you’d expect more to join during a period of strengthening for the club.
So why is Sadiq the next man on Gerrard’s radar? Here, we take a look:
He’s Got Potential
At 21, Saqid is really at the beginning of what he’ll hope is a successful career – and Rangers could be the team to help him realise a lot of the potential he’s shown with Roma, Bologna and NAC Breda. Just look at Celtic’s recent signing of Odsonne Edouard. He showed how good he is in a loan season with the Hoops and is now a permanent player in Brendan Rodgers’ squad. You’d expect him to go on and make Celtic a profit when they do eventually decide to move him on. That could happen with Sadiq.
Roma Spent £2Million On Him
You’d think Roma know a player when they see one and spending £2million on him shows the Serie A giants rate Sadiq. Of course, making an impact with them is a different matter considering the kind of attacking talent they have in their first team squad.
He Showed His Class For Roma’s Youth Team
In nine appearances in the UEFA Youth League, Sadiq scored five goals and inspired the Romans to a quarter final place before they lost to Paris Saint-Germain. Youth team football was absolutely no problem for Sadiq – he just needs a chance to show he can do it on a regular basis for a first team.
He Starred in Nigeria’s Olympic Bronze Medal Performance in 2016
At just 19, Sadiq led the line in Nigeria’s Olympic team at the 2016 Games in Rio. He got four goals on his way to finishing as the tournament’s fifth top scorer and that was enough to get Nigeria third place too. If he’d had more first team football then it would have been no surprise to see him in the Nigeria squad at this summer’s World Cup.
Rangers Need Striker Options
At the moment, Gerrard has just Alfredo Morelos as a realistic option to lead the line in the coming season. Sure, Eduardo Herrera is there, but the big Mexican hardly played last season and you’d be very surprised if he was even kept around by the new Gers boss. So Sadiq arriving would give Morelos some competition and that’s something he’ll need if he’s to be at his best.
Sadiq Wants the Rangers Move
Speaking about potentially moving on loan to Rangers, Saqid, per owngoalnigeria.com, said: “Few players of my age will say no to working with Gerrard. Rangers are also a traditional team but for the moment I’m happy at Roma and hope to be a part of the team next season. For now that is my plan, maybe in the future I will get to work with Gerrard.”
Rangers fans – are you excited about signing Sadiq?
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