Opportunities don't come much better than this for young players out there but for Ibrahim Sadiq, the time may be now to make that huge step.
The former Right to Dream graduate is one of the many Ghanaians taking the bold step of being the face of their respective clubs.
Sadiq has enjoyed success in the last few years since moving to Sweden after leaving FC Nordsjaelland. He signed for BK Hacken in February 2022 and has never looked back since.
The forward joined the club for the 2022 season and hit the ground running immediately wasting no time adjusting and becoming a fans' favourite at the Bravida Arena. Sadiq was instrumental in the club winning the Swedish Allsvenkan for the first time in his maiden campaign.
However small a win may be, Sadiq didn't care and all he was concerned about was success and more titles. The 23-year-old featured in 19 games and contributed 11 goals as his team became champions of Sweden for the first time since their establishment.
"There is more to learn. I am not yet done. There are many guys out there who want what I have gotten so I am not here to relax. There is a lot more to improve on," he said after the league triumph.
That was not just the only success he chalked in his first season. The Ghanaian was also in a rich vein of form as Hacken clinched the Swedish Cup title for the third time as well.
In fact, he scored a brace in the final of the Cup competition as his side brushed aside Mjallby AIF, going on to win 4-1.
The second season in Gothenburg
Sadiq started his season like he never left and scored in the opening game of the 2023 Swedish season against IF Elfsborg before blanking in the second game, where he suffered an injury.
In the league this season, the forward has not backed down, he has only been available on nine occasions as injuries have played a role in his absence but he has always found a way to build that relationship between himself and the goal.
The fast winger has produced five goals, with a scoring frequency of 125 minutes during that run and 0.6 goals per game in the Swedish top flight.
Across all competitions, the Ghanaian has 15 goals with 2 assists to his name in just 22 matches.
Sadiq was close to sealing UEFA Champions League qualification with Hacken for the first time but they fell short in the preliminary qualifying round and dropped to the Europa League qualifications where they are a game away from securing a place in the group stages.
6 of his 13 goals so far have come in Europe, hinting he may be ready for the top after all but there is still a task to accomplish for the young man.
🇬🇭 Ibrahim Sadiq returned to the scoresheet once again today in the Europa League qualifiers as BK Hacken beat FK Zalgiris 5-0.
— Lawrence Baidoo (@kweku_lawrence) August 17, 2023
The youngster scored 2 goals and provided 1 assist in the game.
🫶🏾⭐️ pic.twitter.com/ULpOyiBENL
The national team chapter
You would have to go back to 2017 to remember Sadiq's first international assignment with any of Ghana's national teams. He was part of the Black Starlets team that went to India for the U-17 FIFA World Cup where Ghana was dumped out in the knockout stage after a 2-1 loss to Mali.
He scored in Ghana’s first game against Colombia – a game the Stalets won 1-0 and looked to be on a good path until the defeat to Mali (having lost to them also in the final of the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations).
After that story came 2019, a stint with Ghana's U-20 side. 2019 was that year, and while Ghana did not advance past the group stages, it did present the world with a new crop of young Ghanaian talents which Sadiq was not excluded. He was one of the 11 foreign players in that Black Satellites team, who had just gotten his chance with Nordsjaelland after successfully passing out of the Right to Dream academy and was buzzing.
It has been a long wait but Sadiq since then. But the time may be right after all for the youngster, who has been knocking on the doors of the Black Stars in the last two years.
With his numbers, there are perhaps just a few who may be ahead of him at the moment.
While he has not been mentioned many times, Sadiq is going about his business and ensuring he gets his side of the job done while he also awaits a call that could be coming soon for him should he continue in this fashion.
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