Back to the International Newsfeed

Could Odion Ighalo have done better than Saudi Arabia?

The 31-year-old has inked a deal with Al Shabab, despite a number of Premier League sides needing to add goal threat in a bid for safety

As is often the case with pleasant dreams, Odion Ighalo’s time at Manchester United ended with something of an anti-climax.

What had started with such warmth and goodwill 12 months prior – the eminently gratifying story of a childhood fan attaining the seemingly impossible – tailed off into nothing at all, as excitement and expectation gave way to drab reality.

Of his 23 appearances for the Red Devils over the course of his loan (he scored five times), only five came in the 2020/21 season; an eye-watering 78 percent of his playing total in terms of minutes coming in the second half of the previous campaign.