Glasgow Rangers stumbled for the first time in the Premiership under Philippe Clement over the weekend.
Only a last-minute penalty saved their blushes against an Aberdeen side who had lost 6-0 to Celtic just a couple of weeks prior as they upped their performance levels against the Light Blues.
Nevertheless, the 1-1 draw against the Dons meant the Gers didn’t lose any ground on their Old Firm rivals, yet a win could have seen them claw back some of the deficit which has been allowed to build up since the start of the season.
Since the start of the 2018/19 season, the Gers have won just four times in the north-east, with the first of those matches also ending in a 1-1 draw in what was Steven Gerrard’s top-flight debut for the club.
As bad as things have been for the Glasgow side recently, going back five years, the club were in an even worse state and had finished third in the league during the previous two seasons.
The former Liverpool captain didn’t exactly enjoy the best of starts domestically, while his transfer record was hit-and-miss.
There was one player who joined the Gers in the summer of 2018 who proved to be an utterly dismal signing, yet since departing, has turned into a goal-hungry machine – Umar Sadiq.
Umar Sadiq’s statistics at Rangers
With a daunting task ahead, Gerrard sought to improve a squad which had failed to challenge Celtic during their first two seasons back in the top flight by making 14 new signings.
This was a mixture of permanent and loan moves and the young Nigerian striker joined from AS Roma on a temporary basis having scored five Eredivisie goals for NAC Breda during the second half of the season before.
The Gers needed someone to supplement the goals Alfredo Morelos was contributing and Sadiq looked like a safe option, especially without having to shell out a transfer fee.
His stint turned out to be a nightmare, however, as the youngster managed only 116 minutes of senior action for the club in four appearances, failing to find the back of the net in the process.
His last appearance was the worst of the lot. With Morelos suspended and Kyle Lafferty injured ahead of the League Cup semifinal clash against Aberdeen, Sadiq was Gerrard’s only hope.
He headed over in the sixth minute before straying offside on a few occasions as he simply couldn’t time his runs well.
His lack of attacking input severely restricted Rangers, and they ended up conceding a goal with just over ten minutes remaining as Lewis Ferguson headed in from a corner.
Sadiq was booked for diving near the end of the match, and it summarised his performance up to a tee, while Sky Sports gave him a rating of just 4/10, which was the worst out of any player in the starting XI.
He was sent packing in December, not even halfway through his loan agreement and not many of the Ibrox faithful would have believed how impressive he has turned out since leaving.
What Umar Sadiq did after leaving Rangers
The 6 foot 2 striker finally left Roma to join Partizan Belgrade in January 2020 following a solid six-month loan spell at the club and during his spell in Serbia, he scored 23 goals and grabbed 19 assists across just 52 matches and this attracted interest from afar.
It wasn’t long before he was on the move again, joining Spanish side Almeria, and that is where his career really began to take off.
During his time in Spain, Sadiq not only helped the club secure promotion to La Liga, but he plundered 43 goals in 84 appearances along the way, a stunning total and a far cry from diving against Aberdeen to try and win a penalty just a few years before.
He was dubbed as a “first-rate” striker by Mirandes manager Joseba Etxeberria during his spell in the second tier, and it showcased how far he had come in just a short space of time.
Following two goals in his first three matches in the top flight, Sadiq was signed by Real Sociedad for a fee in the region of €25m (£21.6m) during the final days of the summer transfer window in 2022.
He was looked upon as a replacement for the recently departed Alexander Isak, who moved to Newcastle United and it completed a stunning journey from goalless in Scotland to playing in one of the biggest leagues in the world.
He managed only one goal before suffering a season-ending injury after just a few matches for Sociedad, yet he has returned to the senior squad this term and has one goal in 13 La Liga matches.
Real Sociedad
17
2
Almeria
84
43
Partizan Belgrade
52
23
Perugia
18
3
Stats via Transfermarkt.
Hopefully, he can regain the form which sealed a big-money move to the club in the first place as he looks to improve his goal record.
During his loan spell at the Light Blues, the 26-year-old was only valued at around €0.5m (£0.4m) and if he had impressed during his time in Scotland, Gerrard may well have tried to strike a deal with Roma with regard to a potential permanent move.
While clearly not fit for purpose in the Premiership, Sadiq has improved vastly since 2018 and his move to Sociedad justifies this.
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Judging by his scoring rate since 2020, the Gers may rue his hasty exit, and he was even linked with a big-money move to Bayern Munich. It has been a stunning turnaround for a player who failed to find the back of the against the might of Aberdeen, St Mirren or Hibernian during his stint in Scotland.
No one at that time felt he could reach such heights, of course, and it is a testament to his character that he rebounded from such a poor spell abroad to forge the career that he has at this current moment in time.
Since leaving Rangers in 2018, Sadiq has notched a total of 71 career goals, not a bad return at all.
He wasn’t the first player to struggle at Ibrox before shining elsewhere and nor will he be the last, that’s for sure.