Odion Ighalo has been performing pretty well for Manchester United but the Nigerian footballer is playing on borrowed time. He is currently on loan and that deal is scheduled to lapse this month. Ighalo is supposed to head back to China where he will region his mother team, Shanghai Shenhua.
However, it has been mentioned time and again that the Red Devils are seriously considering getting him permanently. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer seems pretty content at how the 30-year-old has responded as he fills in for the post left by an injured Marcus Rashford. The 22-year-old continues to be out of action as he deals with a back injury.
United has struggled to find the right spark on offense since the departure of Romelo Lukaku who is now with Inter Milan. Rashford was supposed to be that guy but is indisposed. Ighalo has been a revelation, initially planned to be a temporary solution. But it appears the Solskjaer is pretty impressed and there is the growing belief that he is trying to pull strings in making the Nigerian's stay at Old Trafford permanent, the Evening Standard reported.
For now, the COVID-19 pandemic has complicated matters. Current contracts may need to be revisited and the loan deal with Shenhua could be part of it. The thing is that while China is trying to slowly get up on its feet, sports action has yet to get a green light. The Premier League has plans of restarting by June - way beyond the original deal of Ighalo which is only until May.
Hence, the only logical solution is to buyout Ighalo from his Chinese club. But even that may not be spared from issues. As most know, most teams are trying to curb down their expenses with most reeling from lost revenue due to games not being played. However, Ighalo could be an exception, meaning United could shell out big money to make sure he remains at Old Trafford moving forward.
If that does happen, Ighalo will be pretty happy. His current stint alone is a dream come true and it appears he does want to stay with Man Utd if things are sorted out. For now, he is taking it slowly and opting to finish his current deal before looking ahead.
"You don't just rush and do things: 'I'm going here, I'm going here.' I have to sit down and finish the season well, sit down with my agent, see what's on the ground: 'A, B, C, D, is on the ground. Okay we have to pick,'" he said.
