Ismail’s Albania move stalls

Super Eagles defender, Sodiq Ismail, will have to wait further before his move to Albanian side FK Partizani is completed due to ‘fresh minor details’ which must be reached with the club, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Ismail was scheduled to undergo medical on Friday before putting pen to paper on a three-year deal, but that was put on hold according to a close source to the player at his parent club and Nigeria Premier Football League transfer Mill, Mike the Pundit.

“Medicals and official announcement initially scheduled for Sodiq Ismail today (Friday) will no longer hold,” Mike posted via X.

“Fresh minor details need to be reached with FK Partizani. Else, the transfer will not happen!” he added.

Ismail’s potential transfer to the Albanian club will rule him out of the 2024 African Nations Championship which be played in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from February 1 to 28.

Ismail was one of the goalscorers as Nigeria thumped Ghana 3-1 on aggregate to book their spot at the tournament.

The CHAN tournament is strictly for players plying their trade in their country’s domestic league and Ismail will no longer be eligible by the time he completes his switch from Remo Stars.

Since breaking into the spotlight of the Nigeria Premier Football League in 2023, the 21-year-old has been dubbed the assist king, due to his high rate of goal contribution for his teammates.

In the 2023/24 season, he provided 13 assists and one goal as his team finished second in the NPFL while he was also awarded the best defender in the Nigerian topflight by 54FootballX.

This term, he has added goals scoring to his game having netted three times already this season.

All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.

Contact: [email protected]