Odion Ighalo should ignore interest from boyhood club Manchester United to sign for Chelsea, Barcelona or Real Madrid. That’s the view of former Nigeria striker Abdul Sule, who has warned Ighalo not to get sucked into a move to Old Trafford.
Ighalo, 30, completed a dream move to the Theatre of Dreams in January on a six-month loan spell from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua. United are keen to make the loan move a permanent one and are ready to put up the £15m that Shanghai are demanding for Ighalo’s signature.
Ighalo is desperate to complete the deal as he’s a huge United fan but Sule believes Marcus Rashford’s return could complicate issues.
‘I see Odion Ighalo earning a big-money move from top European teams when his loan expires at Manchester United,’ Sule told Goal. ‘I don’t think Man United are keen on retaining him because they seem not to value him enough to hand him a regular place. He also may not be wanted again when Marcus Rashford is fit. ‘I will not advise him to return to China now despite the attractive offer but would urge him to stay in Europe. I won’t be surprised if Chelsea, Real Madrid or Barcelona come for him.’
Solskjaer viewed Ighalo as a stop-gap on his arrival in January but four goals in eight matches have convinced the Norwegian to sign the forward. Part of his reasoning is that Ighalo can provide perfect back-up for Anthony Martial but also that a relatively affordable £15m fee means he can redistribute part of his summer budget elsewhere.
Source: https://metro.co.uk/2020/04/13/odion-ighalo-told-join-chelsea-real-madrid-instead-manchester-united-12547646/?ITO=squid