{"id":862909,"date":"2025-07-16T21:11:53","date_gmt":"2025-07-17T02:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/16\/leave-real-sociedad-for-elche-1996-olympic-gold-medalist-advises-sadiq-umar\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T21:11:53","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T02:11:53","slug":"leave-real-sociedad-for-elche-1996-olympic-gold-medalist-advises-sadiq-umar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/16\/leave-real-sociedad-for-elche-1996-olympic-gold-medalist-advises-sadiq-umar\/","title":{"rendered":"Leave Real Sociedad for Elche \u2014 1996 Olympic gold medalist advises Sadiq Umar"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Sadiq Umar and Ex Super Eagles star Garba Lawal [Photo credit\/IMAGO]<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The future of Real Sociedad and Super Eagles striker, Sadiq Umar, is uncertain, as the La Liga side look to offload him\u2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Former Nigerian international Garba Lawal has weighed in on the uncertain future of Real Sociedad forward, Sadiq Umar<\/a>, Soccernet.ng reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lawal, who had a successful stint with Dutch side Roda JC, urged the Super Eagles<\/a> striker to focus on securing regular first-team football as he edges closer to a Real Sociedad exit.<\/p>\n

Sadiq is currently at the centre of transfer interest from Spanish side Elche CF and Turkish club Samsunspor<\/a>. Real Sociedad are reportedly keen to offload the Nigerian forward permanently, having ruled out another loan spell.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Umar Sadiq centre-forward of Real Sociedad and Nigeria during the LaLiga match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona [Photo credit\/IMAGO]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Speaking exclusively to Africafoot<\/a>, the 1996 Olympic gold medallist with Nigeria, emphasised on the importance of playing time for Sadiq at this stage of his career.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSadiq has great qualities that many teams could benefit from. I\u2019m convinced he still has plenty of goals to score,\u201d Lawal said. \u201cWhat he needs now is regular first-team play, something I doubt Real Sociedad can offer him. It\u2019s not a question of talent, but rather of the playing system \u2014 this club doesn\u2019t play with a true pivotal centre forward.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Garba Lawal in action for Nigeria [Photo credit\/IMAGO]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get Our Sports News First \u2013\u00a0Join Soccernet’s WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/h3>\n

The former Lobi Stars striker further revealed he has maintained regular contact with Sadiq during his challenging spell at Sociedad, where he has encouraged him to stay focused.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhen he was lacking playing time, I always encouraged him not to give up. I told him to keep working hard and stay ready. Football has its ups and downs,\u201d Lawal added.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Umar Sadiq of Real Sociedad in action during the La Liga match between RCD Espanyol de Barcelona and Real Sociedad [Photo credit\/Imago]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While both Elche and Samsunspor<\/a> are set to lock horns for the signature of the Super Eagles attacker, Lawal believes the decision should come down to where he will play regularly.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s a determined player who wants to play. If Elche or another club offers him regular playing time, he should go for it. At this stage of his career, that\u2019s what matters most, and I know he still has a lot to offer,\u201d the former Super Eagles star concluded.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Sadiq, under contract with Real Sociedad until 2028, spent the second half of last season on loan at Valencia. However, a permanent move away from the Basque side now looks increasingly likely as negotiations gather pace.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tAyomide Oguntimehin is a CAF-accredited sports journalist and Editor at Soccernet.ng, with a proven track record in conducting interviews with Super Eagles stars such as William Troost-Ekong, Taiwo Awoniyi, Bright Osayi-Samuel, Ademola Lookman, and many others. He has also made a significant impact in breaking transfer news stories.<\/p>\n

Grounded in video editing, video journalism, social media management, and content strategy, Ayomide brings a wealth of expertise to his work.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Ayomide Oguntimehin<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Sadiq Umar and Ex Super Eagles star Garba Lawal [Photo credit\/IMAGO] The future of Real Sociedad and Super Eagles striker, Sadiq Umar, is uncertain, as the La Liga side look to offload him\u2026 Former Nigerian international Garba Lawal has weighed in on the uncertain future of Real Sociedad forward, Sadiq Umar, Soccernet.ng reports. Lawal, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":862910,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4965,2005,35311],"tags":[7756,44902],"class_list":{"0":"post-862909","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-leave","8":"category-soccer","9":"category-sociedad","10":"tag-leave","11":"tag-sociedad"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=862909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/862909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/862910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=862909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=862909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=862909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}