Who is…The prolific teenage Roma striker Arsenal want?
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If there’s a good way to raise the spirits of a club that has just suffered a surprise loss in the FA Cup, it’s probably through transfer links with a high-profile star.
However, Arsenal fans waking up the morning after Watford ended their run as defending champions in that competition at the Emirates, the Gunners can read about a little-known Roma striker supposedly heading their way.
According to the Sun (via the player’s agent), Roma’s on-loan Nigerian prodigy Umar Sadiq is in talks over a deal to move to north London. Borussia Dortmund are also named as an interested party.
While Sadiq’s name may not set pulses races like a potential move for Dortmund’s own Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, or any of the other red-hot strikers across the continent, the 19-year-old can boast a comparably prolific goalscoring record, albeit in Roma’s youth ranks.
This season, the Nigerian joined the Giallorossi on loan from Serie B outfit Spezia Calcio and has flourished.
Sadiq has netted 16 goals from 17 appearances in all competitions for Roma’s youth side, bagging five in nine in the Uefa Youth League, nine in seven during the team’s domestic league campaign and adding a brace in his only youth cup appearance.
Unsurprisingly, such rousing form has coincided with a promotion to the senior ranks, where the Kaduna native has far from disgraced himself either.
In six Serie A outings for the Stadio Olimpico outfit he has netted twice, bagging his first in an eight-minute cameo against Genoa in December and adding his second when starting the next league game against Chievo.
This isn’t an isolated outburst either, as Sadiq had shown a prodigious talent for goal scoring last season while with Spezia.
While playing for his parent’s club youth team he slotted an impressive 26 goals in just 24 games and finished the season with 27 strikes in 32 all-competition appearances.
That’s more than enough evidence to warrant Arsenal’s interest, but whether he adapts to the English game or goes down in history as another Yaya Sanogo remains to be seen.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
