Real Sociedad President Jokin Aperribay has expressed his happiness with Sadiq Umar’s upturn in form since joining Valencia in January, but he says that Los Ches may have the final say on his future, Soccernet.ng reports.
Umar left Real Sociedad for Valencia in the January transfer window due to his lack of game time at the club. And that decision has proven to be one of the best in his career.
The 28-year-old striker has contributed six goals in 15 appearances for Los Ches and is now giving the established first-choice striker Hugo Duro a run for his money.
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Following his impressive performances for, there have been talks that Sadiq could remain at Valencia, especially as Real Sociedad seem not to want him again.
Meanwhile, Valencia coach Carlos Corberan has been impressed with the former Almeria man. He had some nice words for Sadiq after he scored a vital goal for the club last month.
“I have three great forwards because Sadiq is showing it. Hugo has shown it, but he is not available at the moment. The same goes for Rafa Mir. I have absolute and full confidence in the three forwards we have,” Corberan said.
“I think that Sadiq today exemplifies what the game was like. A game with mistakes at times. And with the mentality to recover from those situations that he had. A game of not losing faith, of assistance, until achieving the objective.”
In a new development, Real Sociedad’s president Aperribay spoke about Sadiq. But he hinted that Valencia may trigger the purchase option on the Nigerian’s contract.
“Valencia has a purchase option on Sadiq. I’m very happy with the level he’s showing. We have to wait for the deadlines,” Aperribay said, per Radio Marca.
Can Valencia sign Sadiq Umar?
In Sadiq Umar’s contract, there was a purchase option there (option to buy), but it was not mandatory. So they can choose whether to acquire his services permanently or not.
If Los Ches decided to get Sadiq on a permanent basis, they would have to pay Real Sociedad an extra €10 million in the summer. And that seems to be a good deal.
With Sadiq, Valencia have three strikers, as they have Rafa Mir and Duro in their books. If they decide to make the Nigerian’s deal permanent, they would have to let go of Duro or Mir which isn’t bad for them.
Sadiq seems like he is already at Home in Valencia, and he will look to keep scoring goals until the end of the campaign to convince the club that he is worth their while.