Odion Ighalo left MUTV presenter in hysterics with Man Utd transfer story

Six years ago, Odion Ighalo returned to the Premier League, joining Manchester United on loan until the end of the 2019/20 season.

A deadline day deal took Odion Ighalo from Shanghai Shenhua to Manchester United on loan for the remainder of the season.

Ighalo, aged 30 at the time, had previously spent three years at Watford in the Premier League. It was a straight loan deal that didn’t include an option to buy.

United were scanning through the January transfer market with a sense of desperation. They needed a striker to score goals, but didn’t have the money to sign a player in his prime years.

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The Nigerian striker made 23 appearances for United, scoring five goals and registering one assist. That wasn’t enough to warrant a permanent deal, though he loved every minute of being at Old Trafford.

Ighalo’s loan at United was extended, so he stayed at the club until January 2021, before taking his professional career to the Middle East.

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The transfer became a reality amid an injury crisis that saw both Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial ruled out of action.

Ighalo had been playing in the Chinese Super League at the time and had previous experience in the Premier League.

The highlights of Ighalo’s time at United include a goal against LASK in the Europa League and when he scored a brace against Derby County in the FA Cup.

Reflecting on some of the best podcast moments he has witnessed working for MUTV, respected presenter Sam Homewood tells a story about the day Ighalo was signed.

When asked about his favourite moments working for MUTV, Homewood told United In Focus: “There are so many. Odion Ighalo talking about the day he signed was so funny because he was running around his hotel room naked.

“He’d been woken up in the night with a phone call from his agent. And his agent was like, ‘could be you, could be Josh King’. And he was like, ‘make it me.’ So he ran to the chairman of the, he was in Shanghai, I think he ran, he ran and found the chairman’s room.

“He’s knocking on the door, just wrapped in his bed sheet. And then he had to go and get a translator because they actually couldn’t communicate. A

“And he’s got a translator, and he sat like on the chairman’s bed in the middle of the night, being like, make this happen. And they’re going, you’re going to lose money. He’s like, you can take my money, just get me there. That was a really cool story.

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How Ighalo’s love for United grew

Sam also told us about how he was impressed by how Odion Ighalo’s love for Manchester United developed from abroad when he was young.

“He also spoke about, like, watching games growing up in Nigeria. The experiences he had of doing that are amazing compared to like the rest of us, like me in the UK, just you watch at home, or you go to the pub or whatever, and it’s all you’re at the game, and it’s just there.

“They used to have, he called them viewing rooms where you would, he said he’d have to save his lunch money from like Wednesday, and then you would buy a ticket to watch the game in someone’s living room.

“Just like, just totally different. It’s just amazing. So that was one of my favourites.

“Mickey Thomas told some incredible stories about going to prison, getting champagne from the governor, because he was a football player and the governor was a football fan, and his stories were brilliant. But then there’ve been really sad ones.”

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What did Odion Ighalo say about his Man Utd transfer story?

Last year, Ighalo spoke to Nigerian Women’s star Rasheedat Ajibade about how the transfer to United came about.

Ighalo admitted that he prayed so that other striker targets wouldn’t join United ahead of him.

“My agent called me that Man United wanted a striker on loan because Martial and Rashford were injured and they needed a back-up striker,” he reflected.

‘” said what team? Did you say Manchester United? And he said they have like four options of strikers (to sign) and you are the third option and all that.

“I started praying against those other options and I said those other options will not work.”

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