Why Manchester United should avoid signing Odion Ighalo on loan
According to Sky Sports, Shanghai Shenhua striker Odion Ighalo has emerged as a loan target for Manchester United.
After the Red Devils’ 2-0 defeat to Burnley at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer indicated that the club are in need of quality signings. Manchester United have endured an inconsistent campaign that has left them in fifth place, six points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
United appear light in various areas of the pitch but one area that needs reinforcements, in particular, is the attack. Having managed only 36 goals in 24 games so far this campaign, the club would do well to boost that unit.
Marcus Rashford is the club’s top scorer with 19 goals across all competitions this campaign. However, he has been sidelined after sustaining a serious back injury against Wolves in the FA Cup last week (h/t BBC), joining Scott McTominay and Paul Pogba in the treatment room. And Solskjaer’s side have struggled in the England international’s absence, failing to score in the back-to-back league defeats against Liverpool and Burnley respectively.
With Martial yet to fully convince in the No. 9 role and Greenwood only 18, the Norwegian tactician has limited options upfront. Having said that, should the Premier League giants go for Odion Ighalo?
Ighalo, 30, scored 17 goals in 55 Premier League appearances for Watford before securing a move to the Chinese League One in 2017.
Despite the striker scoring 10 goals in 17 CSL games, he struggled with injuries last season. Ighalo was out for several weeks after he picked up a hamstring injury playing for Nigeria at the AFCON in Egypt.
Plus, he has been away from the European game for more than three years and a return to the continent, especially to the highly-competitive atmosphere of the Premier League, might make it difficult for him to start firing on all cylinders once again.
Verdict
Keeping all the aforementioned factors in mind, United would be better off not signing Ighalo on loan. The Red Devils need a new striker but the Nigerian isn’t the answer to their problems and thus, they must stay away from him.
