Almeria have finally made it La Liga again, but may be forced to find a new number nine to help them to survival.
Their incumbent goalscorer Umar Sadiq has been attracting interest for some time and Almeria may finally have found a suitor willing to meet their demands.
The Nigerian international is worth €30m to them and according to Mundo Deportivo, Borussia Dortmund may be able to reach that figure. The German giants are looking for a forward to cover the absence of Sebastian Haller after he was diagnosed with a malignant testicular tumour.
They are willing to stump up €25m in a fixed fee and reach the €30m asking price with further variables. Sadiq had previously been linked with European contenders Villarreal and Real Sociedad, who appear to have been scared off by the price tag.
Sadiq has been a prospect for some time, but has failed to explode into action until he reached Almeria. In Segunda, Sadiq replaced Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez and has contributed 41 goals in two seasons. Last season he was crucial to Almeria’s league victory.
While this is clearly part of the model that Almeria aim for, recruiting talented youngsters and developing them, it will be a worry for current manager Rubi. They may have replaced Nunez with Sadiq, but repeating the trick of finding a reliable goalscorer will be difficult so close to the start of the season.
