Manchester United are reportedly on the verge of signing Odion Ighalo on a six-month loan deal.
The 30-year-old striker, who is best known in England for his three-year spell with Watford, is the striker that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is desperate to bring to Old Trafford before the transfer window closes at 11pm on Friday.
United are rushing to do a deal for the Nigeria international, who has also been linked with both Tottenham and West Ham in recent hours.
Solskjaer wants a striker to provide competition for Anthony Martial and 18-year-old Mason Greenwood.
With Marcus Rashford out of action until March at the earliest, it was imperative that United added at least one more striker to their ranks.
Various forwards have been linked with a move to the Red Devils in recent days – including Salomon Rondon, Edinson Cavani and Josh King – but Ighalo is the man who looks set to join Solskjaer’s squad unit the end of the season.
United, according to the report, will pay a third of Ighalo’s wages during his time at Old Trafford.
Odion Ighalo scored more goals than any other player in the top four leagues of English football in 2015 (30).
Can he replicate the same form five years later?
This works out at £100,000 a week. Ighalo, who has just under two years left on his contract with Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai Shenhua, is currently earning an astronomical £300,000-a-week.
United will also pay Shanghai Shenhua a loan fee of between £2 million and £4 million.
Manchester United have confirmed a 6-month deal for Odion Ighalo
It’s understood that United will also have an option to sign Ighalo on a permanent deal at the end of his loan.
While Ighalo wouldn’t have been top of United fans’ lists prior to the January transfer window, many of them will be relived that a striker is arriving to ease the burden on Martial and Greenwood.
