OPINION
Roma striker Umar Sadiq is set to become Rangers’ eighth signing of the summer transfer window says the Daily Record and according to his ex-teammate Karol Mets at NAC Breda, the forward has the “X-factor.”
Speed demon Sadiq spent last season on loan in the Eredivisie where in 12 games for the Dutch side he scored five goals and three assists.
If Mets’ comments are correct and Sadiq is everything that his teammate in the Dutch league says he is, it looks as though Rangers will be getting some player.
The Light Blues have only Alfredo Morelos as their only recognised striking option as it stands, following Kenny Miller’s departure from the club, which makes it a necessity to add a new face to the position.
Sadiq’s height and physical prowess are sure to make him difficult to deal with, but as his teammate stated in the Scottish Sun, his versatility, speed, and ability to keep the ball under close control, all set the lofty forward apart.
The fact that the attacker can play on the wing as well as up front will appeal to his manager Steven Gerrard, who is clearly keen on taking the Scottish Premiership by storm next season and mounting a challenge to Celtic after having the league all to themselves in recent years, following Rangers’ spell in the footballing wilderness.
As quoted in The Scottish Sun, Mets is clearly a fan of the Nigerian forward and uttered the words that will give Rangers supporters a huge reason to be excited: “When you look at him — this slim, 6ft 4in guy — you think he’s going to be a target man. But there’s a lot more to him than that.
“He’s lightning-quick and, for that reason, he played a lot of games for Breda on the wing.
“One-on-one he’s very good and because of that you have to mark him very tightly.
“In a lot of ways, he’s a pain in the ass, in a good way. He’s so unpredictable you don’t really know what’s coming next from him. He’s got the X-factor in that sense.
“Having played against him in training I know he’s a tough kind of guy to mark.”