One of the most talked about transfers in the summer was that of Sadiq Umar joining Real Sociedad from newly promoted LaLiga side Almeria with as many as four teams keen on his signature.
Sadiq caught the eyes of top teams in Europe after finishing as top scorer for Almeria for the second season running with 18 goals, two short of his previous season’s tally of 20 goals. He followed it up with two goals in three games for Almeria in the top division.
The signing from Serbian side Partizan Belgrade moved to Real Sociedad and also scored in his first game for the team before getting injured in just his second game at the club. He was linked to Villarreal, Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla before his move.
Sadiq in an exclusive chat with Owngoalnigeria.com senior editor Mohammed Yusuf Suleiman popularly known as Mowiz from his hotel room in Kaduna lifts the lid on what happened and how he ended up at Real Sociedad, plus his quick recovery from the injury that should keep him out for six months at least.
On His Move Away From Almeria:
Sadiq: I was in Kaduna when I get the call that Villarreal want to sign me. However what looked like an imminent deal didn’t happen as both teams couldn’t agree on my valuation. They made two more attempts but a compromise wasn’t reached.
The next was Borussia Dortmund. They wanted a loan deal with the option of a permanent deal because their move was due to the unfortunate diagnosis of their top striker Sebastian Haller with cancer. So they needed me to fill in the gap and watch how I will settle. Again Almeria weren’t keen on a loan deal.
Sevilla had talks with me with the permission of Almeria. All was agreed and no doubt it was a move I was keen on happening. However both teams were €2m apart in their valuation. Even when I was told to push for the move, I wasn’t having any of such thoughts because Almeria is home to me.
It was in the middle of trying to find a compromise that the Sporting director of Almeria called to say Real Sociedad are willing to pay what they want and I have been granted permission to speak with them. I didn’t until I asked couple of my teammates, who were like it’s a no brainer.
The next day, talks were held and all sorted out So far it’s the best decision of my career.
Miraculous Recovery From Injury:
Sadiq – I will be four months into my operation and rehabilitation by next month but I feel good already and will resume working on the pitch next month. That is way ahead of my schedule, It’s a miracle that even my doctors can’t believe. I am supposed to be out for at least six months and the doctors insist it has to be that time frame.
However, I have been told I must be 150% (laughs) fit before I can return in order not to suffer a relapse but from the look of things I will be back in eight weeks. We will see to that or maybe even earlier.
