The dream of Odion Ighalo to remain at Manchester United beyond his current loan deal could be cut short in June as his parent club, Shanghai Shenhua wants him back in China.
Odion Ighalo joined Manchester United, his childhood dream club, in January on a loan deal which would expire in a few days time. Since January, he has started 3 times for United and has scored 4 times in those starts which is a sensational statistic football enthusiasts can not stop talking about.
Though he was brought to the Premier League as a backup plan for the then injured Marcus Rashford who has fully recovered from his injury, the Nigerian forward has always revealed that he still wishes to remain at the club. Ighalo was once quoted as saying that he does not mind to take another pay cut to remain at Manchester United. Recall that he had to take a pay cut before his loan deal to United materialised.
The 30-year-old Manchester United forward was earning about £300,000 in China but had to earn almost half of that from Manchester United since he joined the club. But his parent-club still pay part of his weekly wages as part of the agreement between United and the club.
Ighalo’s performance has forced Manchester United to attempt to make his dream last longer at United by extending his loan deal. But Shanghai Shenhua has rejected the deal United brought to the table. This means that Ighalo can not continue to stay in Manchester on loan; hence, he has to return to China in June for pre-season training with his parent club.
Recall that the league in China has been halted since December due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now that the Asia country has been able to contain the pandemic to a very large extent, football has been allowed to resume. So, if Manchester United refuses to pay Ighalo’s £20 million buy out clause, he will have no choice than to remain in China until 2021.
Better still, the Nigerian striker will have to pay for his own buy out clause so that he can be free to follow his dream. Or, be a good professional by signing the £400,000 per-week contract extension deal Shanghai Shenhua has already placed on the table for him.
