Nigeria Rio 2016 star Sadiq Umar has been praised for his role in making Italian teams believe in the talents young Nigerian players.
Well respected Italian agent Robert Smith made this known to Owngoalnigeria.com during a chat on why young Nigerian players are finally being sort after by Italian team.
” After Lazio’s experience with Sani Emmanuel and about six young Nigerians who failed to progress as expected at Inter and AC Milan. Italian teams became wary of Nigerian talents”, Robert Smith
” It’s hard to believe that before the coming of Sadiq Umar, there was only one Nigerian who progressed from the youth ranks and held his own in the first team for almost ten years, and that is Eddy Onazi at Lazio.
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” However the rapid progress of Sadiq Umar at Spezia in just two months changed all of that, in just seven months he was playing and scoring for Roma in the Serie A. That changed a lot of opinion on how teams view Nigerian youngsters.
” Italian teams are no longer scared of investing in Nigerian players that wouldn’t have been possible if not for the rapid progress of Sadiq Umar.
” Now we have Orji Okonkwo at Bologna, Kingsley Michael will soon join him there, about four are doing very well at Spezia at different levels. Awua Theophilus is at Inter-Milan, I almost forgot Stanley Amuzie at Sampdoria”.
