The status of Odion Ighalo may be close to being resolved. After initially being shelved, it appears negotiations have gone well between Manchester United and Shanghai Shenhua. Hence, the Nigerian may end up staying longer at Old Trafford and continue to live his childhood dream.
Ighalo's contract will run out on May 31 and the previous belief was that he would likely be absorbed. He has impressed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but all these plans were set aside following the COVID-19 pandemic. With teams now experiencing financial issues, United has been forced to scale back on its player acquisition plans and targets. Hence, the best scenario that Ighalo had was a new loan or an extension of his current one. It appears that has now been granted, Sky Sports reported.
"We’re in dialogue. They’ve been great towards us, his club, and allowed him to play for his dream club," Solskjaer said.
However, there is a bit of a catch before the deal can be sealed. Ighalo would need to re-sign a new contract with Shanghai Shenhua. The deal is estimated to be worth around $493 million that will last until 2024.
Allowing Ighalo to stay at Old Trafford made a lot of sense. Although the Chinese league is set to restart soon, the Nigerian may have trouble getting through China COVID-19 measures and suit up in time. Shenhua is reportedly planning to get a temporary replacement to fill up the void left by Ighalo. The Nigerian will remain with United until January one the new deal is sealed.
Hence, the dream of Ighalo continues. But there are now new concerns in the air. With Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba returning, the Nigerian may not enjoy the same playing time once the regulars are back in action. Other than that, United is reportedly looking to add more players. One of the said targets is Timo Werner who may not be moving to Liverpool after all.
Ighalo may need to step up his game some more, bigger than what he has done so far with Rashford and Pogba forced out due to injuries. He has endeared himself to Solskjaer but the new contract also means a new test for the 30-year-old striker. With plans to restart the season this June, Ighalo will have roughly six months to prove he belongs at Old Trafford. By that time, finances could improve - likely reopening speculations of United absorbing him permanently.
