Man U to sign Ighalo?

[marko]

The proof is in the pudding, 2 weeks, 17th of February, 9PM, United vs Chelsea! lets see what Ighalo can do, we do not create chances, he will have to score half chances! the jury is out, the pundits are baying for his blood! the Pundits are jealous, some are masquerading as football agents, Giggs recommended Darren James to united, i rest my case!

[marko]

Ighalo, Number 25

[cic old boy]

There are similarities with the Cantona signing. It looked crazy at the time, he was cheap, he was a striker, Manure hadn't won in a long time, it was a gamble....

[heavyd]

An all-nighter in China, jubilation in Nigeria and scrambling in Manchester – how Ighalo’s chaotic move unfolded
By Adam Crafton Feb 2, 2020 12

On a creaking telephone line from Lagos, Nigeria, Owolabi Oludare Peter pauses. Owolabi is Odion Ighalo’s lawyer and one of the trustees for the orphanage home founded by Manchester United’s new striker.

Owalabi says: “To understand Odion, we have to go back to our childhood together and you, and your readers, will need to use your imagination. Imagine the world you know, all of those comforts in England and the world you grew up in. Then, I want you to think of the opposite. Because, my brother, in our village; it was basically a ghetto in Ajegunle. We did not have amenities, lights or electricity. clean water was not a guarantee. There was a lot of poverty. The only similarity between then and now for Ighalo? He was donning a United jersey as a child and now he does the same in Manchester.”

As the clock ticked down on the final evening of the transfer window, Ighalo became the stop-gap solution to Manchester United’s striking problems. Signed on loan from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, after United had previously failed in concerted attempts to sign Erling Haaland and Joshua King, it was not most supporters’ ideal way to close January. The bear-baiting was not helped by manager Neil Warnock revealing that the 30-year-old Ighalo was an option for Cardiff City in recent times while Aston Villa also baulked more recently at the financials of any deal.

Yet, behind the scenes, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is quietly satisfied. Ighalo was the top scorer at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and he has notched 31 goals since playing in China.

There are obvious question marks over whether a player from the Chinese Super League can readjust swiftly to the rigours of Premier League football. Quique Sanchez Flores, who coached Ighalo both in China and at Watford, warns: “Mainly, the problem is how they train in China. It is not the same as in England. Is he really ready for first-team matches in the Premier League because the physical difference is so big? He probably needs one month to recover the full rhythm. The good thing is he knows his body well, works hard on injury prevention and he is always working after training. I should say, also, that I felt in China, he gave exactly the same effort and quality as he gave me four years ago. We had the feeling in China that he could recover a high level with any team in Europe.”

In the past 12 months, Barcelona made an attempt to sign the player on loan, while several sources have confirmed to The Athletic that Tottenham Hotspur’s interest in Ighalo was genuine. Jose Mourinho wanted a striker to deputise for the injured Harry Kane but chairman Daniel Levy was unable to strike a deal. His agent Atta Aneke tells The Athletic: “For me, officially, there was another concrete offer from a team in the Premier League. It would not be fair for me to mention who he turned down.”

Ultimately, two key factors secured the deal for United. The first is that Ighalo genuinely appears to be a boyhood United supporter. A close friend, Antonio Ruizal, says: “It was, really, always his dream. I know everyone says that in football but it is true. I was so excited for him I barely slept on Friday night. In China, he would be in his home watching United games, as well as those of his former team Watford. I remember when he was at Watford, one day we went to a restaurant and he told me Louis van Gaal wanted to sign him. This was in January 2016. It did not happen in the end, as Van Gaal left and then Jose Mourinho came and it all went away.”

Mourinho instead signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic for United but roles were reversed on deadline as Ighalo was this time the man calling the shots. United’s position was aided not only by Ighalo’s preferences but also their financial clout. The Athletic has learned that Ighalo’s annual salary in China is around €7 million “net” and United will be covering the vast majority until the end of the season, through a combination of a loan fee paid to the Chinese club and a weekly contribution to his wage package. Tottenham’s financial offer did not match the one on offer from Old Trafford.

Ighalo’s interests are looked after by three different representatives; Aneke, who is said to have “discovered” Ighalo and taken him into European football as a teenager, while Ladi Salami and Patrick Bastianelli are also involved. The trio, along with Ighalo, were seen eating together in central Manchester on Sunday evening to toast the deal.
Photo: Instragram/Odion Ighalo

Solskjaer, whose side have now failed to score in three consecutive Premier League games in the absence of Marcus Rashford, simply required a striker and Ighalo may prove shrewd business. The player due to land in Manchester on early Sunday afternoon, two days after the window closed, and the transfer was scrambled over the line with such haste that United were not able to complete their own medical while Solskjaer himself did not hold talks with the Nigerian striker.

His agent Aneke explains: “The deal was done through agents. I’m sure he’ll speak to Ole when he arrives. They are quite thorough in the medical department at a big club like Shanghai. I believe they’ve sent all medical reports to United and done the required testing they can do.” United later confirmed Ighalo was not required to do a medical due to it being a loan move.

On deadline day, the transfer was by no means guaranteed. “I spoke to Ighalo at around 9.40pm on Friday night and it still was not completely done,” says his friend Ruizal.

United first made significant contact on Tuesday but despite Ighalo looking at flights on Thursday, the deal appeared to be off as the club considered other targets. United’s attempts were further complicated by the outbreak of the coronavirus in China and United needed to establish whether Ighalo had travelled to areas considered high-risk during his Chinese club’s pre-season. Then, as time ebbed away, United formalised an approach. Aneke says: “It was only midday yesterday [Friday] when I became truly convinced it could happen.”

As China is eight hours ahead of the UK, Ighalo stayed up through the night. “He was delighted,” Aneke says. “I think it was a shock but he is delighted. It all happened so fast. He was there in his home, in the middle of night doing paperwork. He was overwhelmed.” Ighalo, wearing a mask to protect his face from coronavirus at Beijing airport, then flew to England to join up with his new team-mates.

Back home in Nigeria, there was jubilation, and even a signing party in his village on Sunday to celebrate the move. One close family member said: “Growing up in one of the most dangerous and unfriendly neighbourhood in the streets of Ajegunle was really tough. It was dangerous. You have pickpockets roaming around in the hood, no security; it is a ‘ghetto’ setting. But he has changed our lives through God’s grace and hard work.”

Ighalo becomes the first Nigerian to play for United and his lawyer Owolabi said “carnivals and street parties” will greet his first appearance in a United shirt. “As children, there was one venue near the ghetto where someone paid for the satellite dish and a connection. Fifty of us would cram into this one cage trying to get the smallest glimpse of the Premier League. He always wanted to be like Ryan Giggs, Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke. Never, ever, could we have imagined one of our friends would be the guy playing on that screen.

“The great thing about Ighalo is that he remembers this area. Our orphanage is a pet project, designed by Jude [Odion], and he has personally provided at least 70 per cent of the funding. We have around 30 kids here. Some have already been adopted into safe families. These are children whose parents have died, who have been abandoned, who are the victims of violence and just been catered for. Because of Jude, they now go to safe private schools and they have hope in their life.”

On the field, Solskjaer will be hoping Ighalo can breathe fresh life into his ailing United team. At Watford, he scored 39 goals in 99 games and in their first season in the Premier League in the 2015-16 campaign, he scored 14 of Watford’s first 26 goals in the Premier League as he attracted Van Gaal’s interest.

Sanchez Flores, who coached Ighalo that season, tells The Athletic: “I have an amazing impression of the player. I fell in love with him. As a guy, he’s professional. He’s a straight arrow. As a person, his life is private. He has strong Christian values and he is respectful.

“As a player, it is difficult to explain Ighalo. His first quality is he can protect the ball and he gives time to the team to get up the field and win the second ball. It’s so difficult to get the ball from him. He’s stronger than he looks. Four years ago, when we put ball in the space, he was also super fast. Now, with five years difference, he is a bit different… but he will always be fine in a physical battle. We played him up front in a two with Troy Deeney and they knew each other inside out but he is absolutely fine to play as a lone frontman, too. One of his most valuable qualities is that his team-mates very quickly learn his strengths and he adapts very well.”

Despite a fast start to the Premier League with Watford, Ighalo only scored one goal after January 23 in that debut top-flight season under Flores. Some who know the player point to the impact of his father’s death and Ighalo organised a match in Nigeria to honour his life. Beyond the personal ordeal, did anything change tactically?

Flores says: “I talked to him and I asked him ‘Iggy, has something happened? Do you want to share with me if your feeling or your security or your confidence has changed? Maybe something in your personal life?’ He said: ‘Gaffer, I’m doing the same but the ball is not going inside the goal but I am doing the same things!’ He was always thinking of ways to get the best of himself. He was not the problem. The problem was the team was a bit down about the form and it became difficult but it wasn’t down to him. He will come again for United.”

For Ighalo, there could be no bigger stage. His agent Aneke says: “I will be so proud to see this guy in a United shirt. I have worked with him since 2007 and took him from Nigeria to play in Norway. I saw him from day one. He is an exceptional young man. It is not just the orphanage; he also takes cares of widows financially in his community. He has come from the poorest area in Lagos and risen to the very, very top.”

https://theathletic.com/1577969/2020/02 ... ted-odion/

sometimes heaven has a way of paying back for all his charitable works! I hope he can bang in a few goals to seal a permanent deal

No matter how well he does i doubt they will make the deal permanent.
The fans wont have it as they will be looking for a big name signing in the summer.
He will also see his game time diminish when Rashford is fit and if his form dips as it tends to do Ole will take some enormous stick.
Even though I dont like ManU i hope he does extremely well

[danfo driver]

Na wa! 2-1 down, need to score, coach looking to Mata, Fosu Mensah and James... Until 93rd minute. O ma se o!

[gochino]

Na wa! 2-1 down, need to score, coach looking to Mata, Fosu Mensah and James... Until 93rd minute. O ma se o!

Well he acted like a fan, so they treated him like one.

[kalani JR]

There are similarities with the Cantona signing. It looked crazy at the time, he was cheap, he was a striker, Manure hadn't won in a long time, it was a gamble....

[danfo driver]

Man United about to sign Cavani

[wanaj0]

Man United about to sign Cavani

Seems a lot of money laundering going on in EPL