15-goal Super Eagles forward reveals his primary target this season

The Almeria forward has enjoyed another incredible year in the Spanish second division, but he is not relenting on reaching his main objectives for the campaign

Nigerian striker Umar Sadiq has revealed his desire to, above any personal glory, help Almeria gain promotion to the Spanish La Liga come to the end of this season.

Benfica-linked Sadiq is one of the reasons why Almeria are soaring in La Liga2, with the Super Eagles star contributing 25 (15 goals, ten assists) of the 52 league goals scored by La Union.

Despite missing a few games due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations in January, Sadiq is only two goals behind the league’s highest-scoring trio of Real Oviedo’s Borja Baston, Eibar’s Stoichkov, and Girona’s Cristian Stuani and one fewer than Cartagena’s Ruben Castro.

Having scored seven goals in his last eight games for Almeria, and with eight more matches left in the regular season, Sadiq can overtake his main rivals for the Pichichi top goalscorer award if he maintains his scoring rate.

But the 25-year-old insists he is more bothered about seeing Almeria secure ascension to the elite division than aiming to finish top of the scorer’s chart.

“No,” the ex-AS Roma starlet responded to a question about chasing the others for the Pichichi award, as per La Voz de Almeria.

“For me, the primary goal is to get the promotion to Primera with Almería, and the Pichichi is something secondary for me.

“Getting one of the first two places is the most important thing.”

After spending a large chunk of the campaign on top of the Segunda Division table, Almeria currently sit in third place – outside of the top two automatic promotion spots.

The Rojiblancos will host Ponferradina at the Estadio de Los Juegos Mediterráneos on Monday night in the first of their final eight league games in the regular season.

A win could send Almeria above Real Valladolid into second place, and Sadiq insists he and his teammates will treat the tie as though it were a cup final.

“These are the last eight games, eight finals for Almería and me,” the Nigerian striker said.

“Now we only play finals and we have to move them forward. First, we are going to focus on Ponferradina.

“We are visited by a rival fighting for the Play-Off and has been showing that he is very strong. For me, all games are equally important, and I have the goal of winning.”

Sadiq is the Spanish Segunda Division’s most valuable player, with a current market estimation of €18 million.