Manchester United head coach, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has revealed that the club will give Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo a permanent contract.
Ighalo was signed on a six months loan contract from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua on transfer deadline day in January as a back up to the injured Marcus Rashford, but has shone everytime he put on a Manchester United jersey to play for the club.
The Ajegunle born forward continued his excellent play since joining United with a fine goal in the 5-0 Europa League victory over LASK in Austria, taking three touches on air before slotting the ball in with a massive shot- and Solksjaer a huge fan of Ighalo says the player has already shown enough to warrant a place in the Manchester United squad next season.
‘Odion has done really well since he came in and he’s enjoying himself,’ Solskjaer said following the game.
‘And he will improve and get better but he has qualities we saw in him and we needed and we will still need those qualities for next season, so let’s see what we will do.
‘He’s a goalscorer and a striker, he doesn’t worry too much about all that nonsense; build-up play – that’s a joke, obviously.
‘He knows his job and what his role in the team is, and he’s very good with his back to goal, great link player, but maybe the best thing about him is his personality, so he’s got the whole lot really.
‘He had three touches before his fourth was the finish. All them touches were high quality but he had to make them to create space for himself. But the strike is on the half-volley, great timing, no one would have saved that one so anyone would have been proud of that finish.’
Ighalo on his part, insists he’ll talk about his Old Trafford future at the end of the season.
When asked whether he’ll make his United move permanent, Ighalo told Sky Sports: “For now, I’m enjoying my time, I’m living my dream and I’m working hard.
“It’s too early to talk about the future, now is for me to fight in every game, make sure I give my blood and sweat for the team, try to win games and make sure we end the season well.
“After this season, we’ll see what’s going on.
“For now, I want to keep working day-by-day, game-to-game, improving and working with these great lads in this team and this great coach who had the confidence to bring me here.
“I have to make sure I pay him back with goals, hopefully with trophies, winning games, fighting for the team, fighting for the badge and after this season, we talk about the next stage.”
