The ex-Nigeria star has thrived on loan at Old Trafford, but has he done enough to earn another year in the English top flight?
Manchester United’s decision to sign Odion Ighalo on loan on Deadline Day in January was met with scorn in some sections of the media, owing to how the Red Devils had gone from targeting Red Bull Salzburg’s prodigious talent Erling Haaland to settling for a 30-year-old striker plying his trade in China.
Many arguments were made for and against the Shanghai Shenhua loanee, with his supporters claiming his long-standing affinity for the club he supported as a boy meant there was a determination to thrive at Old Trafford.
On the other hand, though, were the naysayers who believed the forward was past his best and couldn’t thrive at this level anymore. They pointed to his last few months in the Premier League with Watford, where he failed to pull up trees for the Hornets in the months leading to his departure from Vicarage Road.
Having scored 13 times in his first 19 appearances in the top flight, the Nigerian striker declined spectacularly thereafter, netting just three more times in 40 league games before swapping Hertfordshire for Changchun Yatai in January 2017.
Ighalo’s last few months in England hadn’t been forgotten, and it’s for this reason Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s logic in bringing the Nigerian striker back to arguably the toughest league in Europe was questioned.
Former Cardiff City boss Neil Warnock slammed the desperation of the move, while ex-Chelsea star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink claimed it showed how badly the giants had fallen behind their rivals, Liverpool and Manchester City .
For the United boss, however, he knew his side needed a competent attacking threat to step in from time to time given Marcus Rashford’s extended layoff, Anthony Martial’s inconsistency and Mason Greenwood being too wet behind the ears to carry the can for the 13-time Premier League champions who were, and still are, fighting on three fronts.
“We want to go far in the Europa League, we want to go far in the FA Cup and we’ve got league games coming up, so it was important we had another type of striker to use,” Solskjaer stated in February. “[Ighalo] is a different type of striker, a proven goalscorer and a physical presence.
“It’ll also give us a chance to rest Mason [Greenwood] and Anthony [Martial] at times, as we’ve got so many games coming up.”
The 2019 Africa Cup of Nations top scorer has since come up trumps in United red, scoring four times in eight appearances in all competitions. The fact he’s started only three of those games underlines how well he’s been for his childhood club, and he’s certainly taken some load off Martial and Greenwood’s shoulders in Rashford’s absence.
Ighalo has delivered for Solskjaer’s troops, and even though all five goal contributions have come in cup competitions, the 30-year-old is proving to still have the quality to perform in England.
His lack of goals in the league can be attributed to inadequate game time as he’s clocked one, 10, 18 and two minutes against Chelsea, Watford, Everton and Man City respectively.
Still, it’s not been for the want of trying, as the former Hornet could’ve netted on his debut at Stamford Bridge – thwarted by Willy Caballero – or against his old side on his Old Trafford debut – denied by the woodwork.
Having impressed since joining at the turn of the year, an extension to his loan deal in Manchester has been mooted, while a permanent deal isn’t off the table, either.
However, Rashford’s return from injury for the conclusion of the current campaign and presence next season means having Ighalo on the books might be unnecessary, which begs the question if other Premier League clubs should move in for the striker.
One major sticking point will be the striker’s astronomical wages, as well as Shanghai Shenhua’s asking price purported to be around £50 million.
At 30, it’s certainly not prudent to spend so much on a player who will be 31 by the start of 2020/21 campaign, likely to be a bit-part player too, while handing him excessive wages to boot.
Also, his motivation levels and desire to give his all may not be up to its current levels at another club. While this isn’t a slight on Ighalo’s professionalism, but so much was made by the player and Nigerians back home over the striker getting a move he dreamed of as child, and that buzz won’t be matched anywhere else.
On merit, the player has proven he’s a level above Chinese football and can still do a job for a side willing to accept his physical limitations but make the most of predatory instincts in the box.
Whether his Shanghai-based club drive a hard bargain remains to be seen, but having proven that age is just a number, Ighalo deserves to grace the Premier League for one more season at least, be it at Man United or anywhere else.
Be the first to comment