Premier League’s richest club prepares N14 billion bid for Almeria’s Umar Sadiq

The Nigerian striker’s time in the Segunda Division may be coming to an end if the rumours coming out of Spain is anything to go buy

Newcastle are ready to offer Almeria 30 million euros (13.9 billion naira) to convince the Spanish lower league side to part with Nigerian striker Umar Sadiq when the winter transfer window opens in January, according to Elgol Digital.

The Magpies in October became the richest club in the Premier League after they were bought for £300 million by a consortium led by the Saudi Arabian government’s sovereign wealth fund.

But on the pitch, Newcastle continue to struggle, and the club that finished 12th in the English top-flight last term is bottom of the log after 13 games this season.

The Magpies have not won any match, losing their seventh in the 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates on Saturday.

A change of managers has not translated to improved results, with the club’s new owners expected to invest in new players when the mid-season transfer window officially opens.

One of Newcastle’s main targets is Sadiq, who is currently rated at 18 million euros (Transfermarkt), the highest market value of any player in the SmartBank League. 

Almeria have made it clear severally that they are not in a financial crisis and will not look to sell a player whose goals and assists are fueling their La Liga promotion charge.

But an offer of €30 million for a player they got for €5 million from Partizan Belgrade only last year could be too tempting to resist.

Despite attracting a barrage of criticisms after missing a penalty that denied Almeria victory over Huesca at the weekend, Sadiq is still highly rated in Spain for his quality which has yielded seven goals and seven assists in 17 league appearances.