Nigerian Odion Ighalo is having the time of his life at Old Trafford, and he already scored four goals after only a few weeks of play. The former Watford striker is looking to make his stay with Manchester United permanent, and he'd be happy to take a pay cut to make it happen, which means parting ways to a potential income of £6 million.
Before moving back to the Premier League, Ighalo makes £240,000 per week playing for Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua but if United will want beyond the season's end, the Nigerian is willing to reduce his weekly take by half.
According to The Sun, if Ighalo's loan status with the Red Devils will be made permanent, he will only be too happy to cut his wage by 50 percent. That would translate to pay cut of up to £6 million, but Ighalo would not mind so long as he knows United will want him to remain.
The report said Ighalo is tied up with Shanghai until the end of 2021, but if United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will want to keep after the loan deal has expired in the summer, the English club can opt to buy his contract out.
Ighalo came in as a replacement for the United's injury-plagued striker roster, and since he joined up, the club started on a winning roll. Along with Bruno Fernandes, Ighalo boosted the team performance in the last 11 games, and no defeat has been encountered since then.
The man Ighalo specifically replaced, Marcus Rashford, will be in top form by next season, but all signs are pointing that Solskjaer plans to keep the Nigerian as part of his strike force, that is, if a deal can be arranged with Shenhua.
It is understood that the Chinese club is willing to sell Ighalo, but the negotiation will only start at the seller's asking price of £15 million, which Metro will be three-times the cost of the striker's acquisition. It would seem that Ighalo's parent team was emboldened by the fact that he contributed significantly to United's winning run.
Per the same report, the chance is high United will extend the stay of Ighalo at Old Trafford, notwithstanding the belief that Shensua may be asking too much. Yet it's undeniable that the Red Devils surged in the past week, and Ighalo was part of the consecutive victories that started in February.
Per the same report, Solskjaer is unmindful of the inflated asking price from the Chinese side and will likely discuss a permanent transfer deal for the striker, who reportedly has become popular in the locker room after only six weeks of playing for United.
"Odion has done really well since he came in and he is enjoying himself ... He will improve and get better, but he has qualities we saw in him and we needed and we will still need those qualities next season," the Norwegian manager was reported as saying.
