Super Eagles and Valencia’s prolific forward, Umar Sadiq, has been in outstanding form throughout March.
As a result, he has been nominated for two of La Liga’s most prestigious awards: La Liga Player of the Month and La Liga Goal of the Month.
Although there is still one week left before the end of March, La Liga has already announced the final shortlist for the Player of the Month award.
Alongside Umar Sadiq, the list includes Isco from Real Betis, Marcos Alonso from Celta Vigo, Pedro Díaz from Rayo Vallecano, and Kylian Mbappé from Real Madrid.
The Nigerian star made an immediate impact after joining Valencia on loan from Real Sociedad. His influence has been crucial, as Valencia managed to collect 12 points in their last seven matches. This resurgence has been largely driven by Sadiq’s outstanding performances.
In the last five league matches, all of Valencia’s goals have been scored by either Umar Sadiq or his teammate Diego López. In terms of goals scored in March, Sadiq and Kylian Mbappé are the joint-top scorers with three goals each, while the other nominees have scored either one or two goals.
Sadiq’s Goal of the Month nomination comes from his incredible backheel finish in the 87th minute against Osasuna. The spectacular strike left the defenders stunned and is widely considered a strong contender for the award.
Many believe Sadiq has a higher chance of winning Goal of the Month than Player of the Month.
Due to his impressive performances, Valencia is seriously considering activating the €9 million buy option in his loan contract.
So far, the club has paid €0.5 million for the loan deal. If they manage to avoid relegation, they will need to pay an additional €0.5 million.