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CEO claims striker who Rangers axed from Ibrox in 2019 is now making club-record £25m transfer

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
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Photo by Silvestre Szpylma/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Umar Sadiq suffered a Rangers nightmare but is now on the verge of making a huge £25million transfer having turned his career around with Almeria.

Darwin Nunez is now a Liverpool star but if you go back just a couple of years, he was in the second tier of Spanish football with Almeria.

The Uruguayan landed his big move to Portugal with Benfica and Almeria needed to go into the market to find a replacement.

Almeria settled on Sadiq, completing a big move just a year-and-a-half years since his Rangers hell came to an end.

Umar Sadiq suffered a Rangers nightmare

Back in the summer of 2018, Rangers needed to add striking firepower around Alfredo Morelos.

They went with an experienced striker in Kyle Lafferty and something of a wildcard addition in Sadiq.

Sadiq arrived on loan from Roma after a promising spell of five goals in 12 games on loan at NAC Breda, so Rangers fans had hope.

It quickly become clear that Steven Gerrard wasn’t a huge Sadiq fan though, and he gave the Nigerian ace just one league appearance in a Rangers shirt.

Rangers ditched Sadiq by sending him back to Roma, who in turn sent him to Perugia.

Sadiq went down as one of Rangers’ most forgettable loan signings having failed to impress, but he has become a star away from Ibrox.

Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

The 25-year-old striker headed to Partizan Belgrade in Serbia, bagging 23 goals in 52 games to earn that move to Almeria.

The goals have continued to flow, with Sadiq smashing 41 goals in 81 games for Almeria – and he is now on the move again.

Almeria CEO Mohamed El Assy has now told Mundo Deportivo that a deal has been agreed for Sadiq to leave in a huge €30million (£25million).

That will be more than the €25million Benfica paid for Nunez, with Sadiq becoming Almeria’s record sale.

Reports in Nigeria suggested that Sadiq was nearing a move to Borussia Dortmund, but they are instead signing Koln hitman Anthony Modsete.

It now looks like Villarreal are favourites for Sadiq, with Rangers left to wonder just how they weren’t able to harness the striker’s quality.

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images