Manchester United completed a deadline day move on February 1, 2020, by signing Nigerian international striker Odion Ighalo on a loan deal from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua. The initial agreement was set to run until the end of the 2019/20 season and notably contained no option for Manchester United to purchase the player permanently.
Ighalo, who was still in China but expected to travel to the UK shortly after the deal was confirmed, was a proven Premier League scorer from his previous time with Watford, where he netted 39 goals in 99 matches between 2014 and 2017. He had moved to the Chinese Super League in 2017, first playing for Changchun Yatai before joining Shanghai Shenhua in 2019, scoring 10 goals in 19 games for them.
His form for the Nigerian national team was also impressive, having finished as the top scorer in the African Cup of Nations qualifying with seven goals, and scoring five goals at the main tournament the previous summer.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer welcomed the signing, stating that Ighalo is an “experienced player” who would provide the team with “an option of a different type of centre-forward for the short spell he’s staying with us.”
It is understood that Ighalo, a lifelong fan of the club, prioritized a move to Old Trafford despite interest from other Premier League teams. His loan arrival marks the club’s first senior loan signing since Radamel Falcao in 2014.
