On the deadline day of the January transfer window in England, many deals were brokered in the final hours of January 31, 2020. Some are surprising deals while some are not. But one of many deals that many didn’t expect was Odion Ighalo’s loan move to Manchester United.
Many have raised eyebrows as regards the Ighalo’s shocking switch to United after the club’s exigency upfront got worse with the club’s leading goalscorer this season, (Marcus Rashford) on the sidelines. And with Anthony Martial’s repugnant performances every weekend, thus making Manchester United need a temporal solution to fill the void left by Marcus Rashford.
But should we be surprised? Hell no. The reason most lovers of Manchester United are worried is due to lack of a suitable replacement for Romelu Lukaku and to prove Ole and the Manchester United hierarchy wrong, the Belgian has bagged 21 goals this season in all competitions for the Nerazzurri.
To compound Red Devil’s woes, they almost signed the Norwegian sensation (Erling Haaland) before a sudden change in the 19-year-old’s decision at the last minute to move to Bundesliga Heavyweight, Borussia Dortmund and having played three games as a substitute, the former Red Bull Salzburg striker has blasted the net 8 times becoming the first player ever to bag 8 goals in first 4 appearances for a German club – asides that, what has made the record so impressive is that Haaland only started one match in the four matches played and has barely played 90 minutes in all.
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Not to downplay the efforts of Ighalo, Manchester United apparently deserved what they’ve got in the transfer market. And with the report that the former Nigeria striker will wear the number 25 jersey at the club, and will participate in United’s Europa League matches, it’s pertinent to set an agenda for the AFCON 2019 top scorer.
Why Ighalo may not deliver at United
Manchester United currently have players who are very insalubrious to a player in Ighalo’s caliber.
It’s not an understatement or exaggeration when some United’s players get bashed for putting up poor displays on the field. Although, some players in the current squad have in recent times achieved some amazing feats but like the common African saying, “one rich man in the midst of six poor men, all of them are poor“.
With the way United is being structured, even the best players in the world right now will come in and struggle simply because some players are not worthy to put on the Red devil’s jersey.
Ole’s cluelessness will frustrate Ighalo
It remains to be seen whether a manager who got rid of proven attackers in the team to favor some “young” and players with “the United DNA” will try to make Odion Ighalo his first choice being an African and also putting into consideration, the last African to make a move to Manchester United (Eric Baily) has been indirectly fizzled out of the first team. Ighalo’s move might just be a decoy.
It’s detrimental to Ighalo
Another factor to consider is the quality of the league Ighalo is coming into; he will no longer be playing in the underdeveloped league and also of a low standard compared to the EPL and begin to ply his trade in a more developed and competitive league.
Albeit he’s had the experience, but his fitness issues might make it a bit difficult for the Nigerian to adapt to. The former Watford striker has not played the kind of English football for two years, hence the skepticism about him.
