UD Almeria of Spain top scorer, Umar Sadiq could be tempted into joining Brighton & Hove Albion of England for a princely transfer fee of 30 million euro, megasportsarena.com reports.
although the lanky lad, who has previously played for AS Roma and Bologna of Italy as well as Glasgow Rangers of Scotland and Partizan Belgrade of Serbia, is being courted by several other clubs across Europe, he appears inclined towards accepting the offer from Brighton.
This is based on an observation that The Seagulls had fellow-Nigerian star, Leon Aderemi Balogun on their cards until recently and the Germany-born defender is now playing for Rangers in Scotland.
Alhough Balogun left Brighton under a cloud and Sadiq could not hit top form at Rangers, the connection between both clubs has shot to the fore, with reports indicating that the Rio 2016 Olympic Games bronze medalist has set his sight on moving to American Express Stadium next month.
That is sequel to reports out of England indicating that Brighton have expressed formal interest in the tall lad, who grew up in Kaduna and put himself into the summer transfer window spotlight this past season with a rush of 28 goals combined for Almeria and Partizan Belgrade.
A regional newspaper in Spain, La Voz de Almeria has now further disclosed that Brighton have launched a frontal bid for Sadiq’s signature, at a point updated transfer market reports indicated that Bayer Leverkusen of Germany also have his name among their summer targets.
Incidentally, Sadiq, who stands tall at 6 feet four inches, is one of three giant Nigerian strikers on Brighton’s radar, as The Seagulls have also been linked with Racing Gent of Belgium’s Paul Ebere Onuachu (6’7″) and Crotone of Italy’s Simeon Tochukwu Nwankwo (6’6″), but their cheapest option among the trio would be the ‘Kaduna Boy,’ who has a release clause of 60 million euro.
Brighton may even end up getting him for less, as Almeria are reportedly willing to negotiate with interested clubs who make an offer in the region of 30 million euro for the 24-year-old lad, who played on loan at Rangers in 2018 but struggled for game time and was recalled from Ibrox Stadium before the agreement was due to expire.
However, a major caveat that has emerged, which would not excite Brighton and Leverkusen, is that Sevilla of Spain are said to be keeping an eye on the lad, which could be a huge advantage for them, as Sadiq had recently confessed that he would prefer playing in LaLiga next season.
