DONE DEAL! Ighalo completes loan move to Manchester United

Former Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo has completed a loan move to English Premier League club, Manchester United from Chinese Super League side, Shanghai Shenhua.

Ighalo signed a six-month deal, to stay at the club till the end of the season.

The 30-year-old former Watford striker had been a target for the Old Trafford club, who needed to boost their striking options in the January window.

The deal, which does not contain an option to buy, was struck on deadline day – minutes before the close of transfer market.

Ighalo will become the first ever Nigerian to play with the Red Devils, and a Nigerian flag will finally be hoisted at Old Trafford.

Read Also: Watford’s demand for ‘big money’ reason I moved to China — Ighalo

The move is said to have been done to cover the short-term injury to Marcus Rashford, who is currently nursing a back injury.

But Ighalo is still in China but is expected to travel to the UK in few days’ time.

The forward has Premier League experience with Watford, where he scored 39 goals in 99 matches for Watford between 2014 and 2017.

He then moved to the Chinese Super League, first with Changchun Yatai before moving to Shenhua after the former were relegated.

At Shenhua, he scored 10 times in 19 games.

Before retiring from Nigeria’s national team, Ighalo was capped 35 times, scoring 16 goals. He finished as the top scorer at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations – during the qualifiers (7) and at the tournament proper (5).

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