Max Aarons sends two-word message as ex-Rangers flop joins La Liga club for millions
Rangers are hoping to enjoy a strong January transfer window as Danny Rohl’s side push for a Scottish Premiership title.
Rangers’ 2-0 win over Aberdeen last time out moved them to within three points of leaders Hearts, and provided further evidence that Rohl is the man to lead the Gers back to glory if he’s given the tools and backing to do so.
Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises have urged to spend this month, and they appear to be doing exactly that given the breakthroughs in the market that’ve been made this week.
Rangers have agreed to sign Tuur Rommens in a £3.5million deal with Westerlo, whilst midfielder Tochi Chukwuani is finalsing a £4m move to Ibrox from Sturm Graz.
Max Aarons reacts to Umar Sadiq transfer news
Signing players from niche markets such as Austrian and Belgian football always has an element of risk attached to it, especially young players such as Rommens and Chukwuani respectively.
Players from those leagues can find it tough to adapt to Scottish football, but equally, they can be the type of signings that alter the trajectory of a team.
Rangers will certainly be hoping it’s the latter with those two, but one player who certainly fell into the former in Glasgow was Umar Sadiq.
The Nigerian striker joined the Gers on loan in the summer of 2018, but by the start of 2019, his season-long loan move was terminated after making just four first-team appearances and failing to score.
However, now 28, Sadiq has signed for La Liga outfit Valencia this week, in a deal that is reportedly worth four million euros, with an additional one million euros in add-ons, per OneFootball.
Taking to his Instagram to announce his latest transfer, Sadiq posted a video of some his highlights and best moments with his previous club Real Sociedad, and Rangers’ Max Aarons was among those congratulating and wishing him well in his next chapter.
Aarons wrote: “Amunt Sadiqi,” which is a play on Valencia’s famous ‘Amunt Valencia!’ chant that simply translates to, ‘Go/Up Valencia!’.
The Rangers loanee has a connection to Valencia, as he spent the second half of last season on loan with them from Bournemouth.
- Read more: Rangers trigger welcome transfer windfall as fresh details emerge on Tochi Chukwuani deal
How has Umar Sadiq been getting on since leaving Rangers?
After seeing his Rangers loan cut short, Sadiq spent the rest of the 2018-19 season on loan with Italian Serie B side Perugia.
From there he left Roma on loan again, this time for Serbian giants Partizan Belgrade, before signing with them on a permanent deal in the winter window of 2020.
- Sadiq played 57 times for Real Sociedad, scoring five goals
- He made one appearance in the Premiership for Rangers
- His other three appearances came in the League Cup (two) and Europa League (one)
After one-and-a-half seasons with them, he signed for Spanish side Almeria, where he stayed for two seasons scoring 43 goals in 84 appearances, earning him a big move to Real Sociedad in the summer of 2022.
He struggled to find form there however, but after scoring six goals in 19 appearances on loan at Valencia for the first half of this season, he’s now put pen to paper on a permanent deal with Carlos Corberan’s side.
Stay up to date this winter with our Rangers transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at Ibrox, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.