The top scorer for Nigeria U23s at the Rio 2016 Olympics Sadiq Umar has been rated among the top 20 youngsters to watch in Italy in the year 2017.
On loan to Bologna from Roma, the 20 year old was listed alongside other top prospects in the Serie A, in a list compiled by respected international tabloid Guardian.
Read below how he was rated in the piece.
Umar Sadiq, 19, Bologna (on loan from Roma), Nigeria
One looks at Umar Sadiq and immediately thinks he’s not fit for Serie A. Maybe not even for football in general. This is probably what people used to think of Peter Crouch when he first wore a football shirt, but this didn’t prevent him from scoring plenty of goals. And nor is it stopping Sadiq.
Last season, the Nigerian centre-forward’s supremacy was quite embarrassing for the opponents of Roma’s youth team – he scored 14 goals in just nine appearances in the Campionato Primavera and Coppa Italia Primavera, five in nine appearances in the Uefa Youth League, plus two in six games in Serie A. Such impressive numbers speak for themselves.
In the summer, Roma decided to loan the 19-year-old to Bologna so he could step out of youth football, where he’s too strong for defenders. Unfortunately he has missed most of the season so far due to an ankle injury but, if the surgery shows positive results, the long-limbed striker will be ready to show everybody his killer instinct remains among the grown-ups.
