UD Almeria of Spain striker, Umar Sadiq has been linked with a deal at French midstream side, Troyes AC, after he sensationally snubbed an offer from Manchester City of England, megasportsarena.com reports.
With the Rio 2016 Olympic Games bronze medalist having shot into the spotlight with a haul of goals last season with Almeria in the Spanish lower division, his transfer market value has shot up.
That did not deter Man City from making an official bid for the tall lad, but Sadiq opted not to pitch his tent at Etihad Stadium, and he could be heading to France instead.
This much is contained in a report by SCORENigeria, which disclosed that Sadiq, who scored 20 goals in Segunda Liga last season, but failed to help Almeria gain promotion back to the Spanish top flight, prefers to grow under less stringent conditions in France.
The former AS Roma and Bologna of Italy, Glasgow Rangers of Scotland and Partizan Belgrade of Serbia hitman turned down the chance to move to the English Premier League, despite City being the only club to match Almeria’s huge asking price on his transfer.
However, the big caveat that spurred Sadiq to reject the offer at Etihad Stadium was the realization that The Citizens wanted to buy him and then him out to newly promoted French Ligue 1 club, Troyes AC.
As the saga continues over Sadiq’s immediate future, a credible source told SCORENigeria that the striker’s preferred destination is La Liga, but he may now end up taking his itinerant trade to France instead.
“So many clubs want sign Sadiq but Almeria’s huge price tag has been the stumbling block. Manchester City are ready to meet Almeria’s valuation, but Sadiq does not wish to go on loan. He wants first-team football and he does not want to go to France.
“The French club he will go to were only promoted to Ligue 1 and City only recently bought a stake in them. He wants to play in the top flight in either Spain or England, where he can fully showcase his talent,” the sourced submitted.
