By Ben Alozie
Indications emerged yesterday (Sunday) that Odion Ighalo’s dream of extending his stay at the Old Trafford may come true following advance negotiation by Manchester United for another seven months loan deal.
The 30-year-old’s original four-month loan deal expired, but the club have been working on a resolution to keep Ighalo at Old Trafford over the past couple of weeks.
The initial loan deal would have covered the end of United’s season, but with the campaign placed on hold since mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are still nine Premier League games remaining with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side also still in the FA Cup and Europa League.
Ighalo’s parent club were keen to have the Nigerian striker back, with the Chinese Super League looking to start their season at the end of June or the start of July.
Originally Shanghai Shenhua were only willing to allow Ighalo to stay at Old Trafford if he was signed on a permanent deal, but that was something that held little attraction to United.
Instead they have continued to pursue an extended loan deal and Shanghai Shenhua’s stance eased late last week, with boyhood United fan Ighalo making it clear how desperate he is to stay at the club and finish this season, at least.
