Manchester United defender Luke Shaw is pleased that the club has finally extended the loan deal of Odion Ighalo who joined the Red Devils in January from a Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua.
Ighalo who has been very phenomena since he joined Manchester United on a five months loan deal, almost lost the chance of continuing to play for United when the deal expired on May 31. Hours after the expiration of the contract, the big announcement came that Manchester United and Shanghai Shenhua have finally agreed on terms to allow Ighalo to remain with the Premier League club.
Ighalo who has always said it has been his dream to play for the Old Trafford club said he was “buzzing” with joy when the contract extension finally scaled through. He has been allowed to continue living his dream at United until January 31, 2021.
Before then, he has the opportunity of winning the FA Cup and also the Europa League Cup because United are in the quarterfinals of the FA cup and also in the round of 16 of the Europa League with 5 goals advantage. They also have a big chance of making the top 4 if the season restarts. They are currently occupying the 5th spot with 45 points behind 4th placed Chelsea football club with 48 points, and 9 matches left to play.
In reaction to the extension of his stay at United, his teammate and England international, Luke Shaw, said the 30-year-old striker has duly earned the contract extension and all members of the team are excited about it.
“Before he (Ighalo) arrived, a few people outside the club weren’t too sure what he was going to bring to the club, but he’s shown everyone because he’s brought goals and a different style to our other strikers”, Luke Shaw told United’s official website.
“He’s earned and deserved the chance to stay here longer. He brings happiness and a smile in the place.
“He’s great in training but he’s also been really important at times during games and scored some great goals. Now that everything’s sorted, hopefully, he can relax now and settle back into doing what he was doing before football stopped.”
Since the Nigerian forward joined Manchester United, he has managed to make 8 appearances, scoring 4 goals and making 3 assists in all competitions before coronavirus pandemic interrupted the season. The former Wigan Athletic striker is looking forward to continuing the sweet run from June 17 when the season finally restarts.
