Odion Ighalo will be desperate to prove he’s good enough to play for Manchester United, former Red Devils hitman Andy Cole believes. The Nigeria international completed a shock loan move to Old Trafford from Chinese side Shanghai Greenland Shenhua on transfer deadline day.
The former Watford hitman will stay at the Theatre of Dreams until the end of the season, though it’s been reported United have the option to buy him permanently in the summer.
The shock move to Old Trafford, which came to fruition after United had a late offer for Josh King rejected by Bournemouth, has been a dream come true for the 30-year-old Ighalo.
Ighalo is a lifelong United fan, with photos of him wearing old Red Devils kits with his friends and family coming to light soon after he moved to the Theatre of Dreams.
And Cole believes the striker’s love for the club will give him more motivation to hit the ground running.
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Ighalo missed United’s warm-weather training camp in Marbella due to concerns over his ability to re-enter the country following the coronavirus outbreak in China.
Despite missing the training camp, Ighalo will be in the squad for United’s trip to Old Trafford on Monday to take on Chelsea.
“Yeah, he is going to travel with us,” United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said of Ighalo. “We will just see his fitness work this week and I think we will get him sharp.
“We want to integrate him as quickly as we can because, of course, he is desperate to play for us.”
Ighalo is chomping at the bit to play for his boyhood team, saying: “I’m very happy. First, I want say thank God for making this happen and it’s just like a dream come true for me.
“People that know me, even back in Nigeria, and even when I was playing at Watford, my team-mates knew that I loved Man United, I support them.
“When I played against Man U, that emotion is there, because it is my dream.
“It is a nice reality, so I’m very happy and I’m looking forward to start.”