Nigeria striker, Odion Ighalo could be leaving Manchester United and rejoining Chinese club, Shanghai Shenhua as early as next week.
Ighalo has made no secrect of his desire to play for United, a side he supported as a boy but that dream could be coming to an abrupt and premature end as parent club Shanghai Shenhua are demanding he returns to China for pre-season training.
United snapped up Ighalo on loan in January and the Nigerian has made a significant impact, scoring four times in three starts for the Red Devils.
Ighalo was brought in as a back-up option, following an injury to Marcus Rashford but his form had led to suggestions United could push to make the deal permanent.
The Daily Mail however reports that Ighalo’s time at Manchester United is coming to an end as Shenhua have rejected United’s offer to extend his loan deal.
Ighalo’s current contract with United expires at the end of this next month, with the Premier League not expected to restart until mid to late June.
Shenhua have not played since December due to their domestic season being postponed as a result the coronavirus pandemic. China’s Super League was due to start in February, but will now be starting next month.
Despite allowing Ighalo to leave on loan, Shenhua have always been keen for the 30-year-old to return to the club, offering him a two-year contract extension earlier this year worth £400,000 per week. However, Ighalo has made it clear he would rather stay at Old Trafford.
It was reported that Shenhua would be willing to accept a fee of £20million to part company with Ighalo, but as yet there have been no discussions over a permanent switch.
Moreover, United would still have to agree on a loan extension to be able to keep him for the rest of the season before the next transfer window reopens.
United paid £3 million to loan Ighalo and are contributing almost half of his £300k-per-week wage, which was deemed a wise investment at the time.
Since then though, Marcus Rashford has had time to rehabilitate from a back injury and is nearing a return, diminishing Ighalo’s importance to boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. That, coupled with the contract wrangle with Shenhua, is likely to bring his time at United to a close.
