It is believed that Odion Ighalo could have played his final game in a United shirt. His parent club, Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, wants the player to return and start the Chinese Super League campaign with them, honouring their initial agreement.
This has brought the current negotiations to a halt, with a permanent deal looking more and more unlikely to happen now. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was very keen on keeping him at the club, and this certainly because of his performances for the Manchester side. But like many others, the forced COVID-19 break came at the wrong time for a player showing excellent form in front of goal.
It appears the club do not agree with their manager and are still only looking at a short-term deal for the Nigerian forward. The club from China feels their best player and top-scorer is worth £20 million, and have set that amount as the starting, asking price.
Shanghai Shenhua are demanding the Nigeria international returns to China for the start of the Chinese Super League campaign, meaning Ighalo could have played his last game for United.
At present United are only pursuing a short-term deal, rather than a permanent move for 30-year-old who has scored four goals in three starts since arriving in January.
Shanghai are believed to want £20million for Ighalo, who Solskjaer admitted had played his way into a potential transfer before the season was halted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Man United will and should be reluctant to pay such a fee when they have other priority signings to get over the line before next season. The striker’s age doesn’t make him a good enough prospect for the future, which Ole has been assigned to look towards.
Jadon Sancho and Jack Grealish are players said to be at the top of the list.