After realising a lifelong ambition to join Manchester United, the club he’d supported since childhood, former Nigeria international Odion Ighalo is hopeful that he can see out his career at Old Trafford. However, would that also spark interest in returning for the Super Eagles?
"He would love to be a Red for the rest of his life", personal trainer Ekemini Ekerette recently commented to Goal, highlighting that Ighalo "wants to stay and loves United, Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer] and the fans", having enjoyed the opportunity to finally pull on the famous shirt of his favourite team.
Despite the fact that Ighalo will celebrate his 31st birthday in June 2020, and doubts about his long-term future at United once Marcus Rashford returns to full fitness, Ekerette insisted that Ighalo is a "wonderful athlete" who still has plenty of years ahead of him. What’s more, "he’s looking forward to hopefully getting to play with Rashford" in the future.
Right foot? Left foot? It doesn't matter to our Naija boy ?#MUFC @IghaloJude pic.twitter.com/yNzTmYKsuU
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 10, 2020
Although he didn’t make his senior debut with Nigeria until 2014, after making a total of 35 appearances and scoring 16 goals with the Super Eagles, Ighalo announced his retirement from international football following the Bronze Final at the 2019 African Cup of Nations, after finishing as the highest scorer at the tournament with seven goals.
The absence of Ighalo will be sorely missed by Nigeria, who are considered international football betting outsiders to win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, priced at 101.00 odds.
His goals have proven vital for the Super Eagles over the last six years, yet he grew tired of constant criticism surrounding his performances, which is what ultimately prompted Ighalo to call time on playing for his country.
While his immediate thoughts are focused on securing a permanent move to Manchester United, reports elsewhere have suggested that Shanghai Shenhua would request a large transfer fee.
This has prompted speculation that the Red Devils are now weighing up alternative options, although Ighalo will undoubtedly be keen to continue proving his worth.
Ighalo Retires From International Footballhttps://t.co/1bZ7eTYI8a#RhythmSportsNews #Ighalo #SuperEagles pic.twitter.com/qnq80kO5Lx
— Rhythm FM (@937RhythmFm) July 22, 2019
Should he get to stay at Old Trafford, it will be interesting to see if Ighalo remains steadfast about his decision to retire from international football. After the Bronze Final at the 2019 African Cup of Nations, he won the Golden Boot and was named in the team of the tournament.
While it could be said that Ighalo went out on a positive note, it’s hard not to shake the feeling that he could yet reverse that decision.
"The door is always open for him at any time", Gernot Rohr later explained to ESPN, admitting that Ighalo "has been very strong for us and it’s sad he doesn’t want to continue" playing for the Super Eagles.
Given his fitness and form, there’s no doubt that Ighalo would be welcomed back into the Nigeria fold with open arms, although much would also depend on how his performances were treated.
After suffering toxic criticism by some fans via social networks if he didn’t score goals for Nigeria, the decision to quit the national team seemed like a justified move by the player at the time, having received abuse and even death threats during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that Ighalo was proud to represent his country, so there’s always the hope he might reconsider ahead of upcoming major tournaments.