Sadiq Umar’s call-up to the Super Eagles for 2025 AFCON qualifiers against Benin and Rwanda has generated a lot of controversy.
The Real Sociedad striker has yet to score a goal for his club this season and his game time has been limited.
He has been picked by the Super Eagles ahead of Belgium Jupiler Pro League joint leading scorer Tolu Arokodare, Cyriel Dessers, who has netted nine goals for Scottish giants Rangers, and Chuba Akpom, who has also been prolific for Dutch giants Ajax.
A social media user lamented that invitations to the Super Eagles are no longer based on merit.
Sadiq Umar was not shy to respond to this accusation.
“E pain you”, the striker replied with emojis of a face of a clown as well as a sad face.
Allegations are rife that despite his lack of numbers, the striker has some very powerful backers at the NFF.
And he himself has often boasted about this in national team training camp.
It would also be recalled that Sadiq caused a major stir before the 2023 AFCON earlier this year in Cote d’Ivoire when he alleged that he was unfairly dropped from the final squad due to a knee injury he suffered a pre-tournament friendly.
