Odion Ighalo gives away lucrative wages in China to sign for dream club Manchester United

The injury to Manchester United's young forward Marcus Rashford forced Ed Woodward and Co. to look for an experienced striker to lead the line for the rest of the season. Manchester United were linked to names such as Erling Haaland, Edinson Cavani, Danny Ings and others in the recent transfer window. However, they zeroed in on Odion Ighalo who secured a deadline day loan move to Old Trafford in one of the most unexpected moves of the window. 

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Odion Ighalo's first visit to Old Trafford back in 2013 

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Odion Ighalo took a massive pay cut to join Manchester United

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In his first interview as a Manchester United player, Odion Ighalo revealed that "A few other clubs had shown interest, I said please, just pick United, if it’s going to be possible. At 11 pm in Shanghai, my agent called me [to say] that United want to do the deal, so I woke up that night and started looking for a translator to go to the directors’ room and hit his door and all that. My agent wants to speak to you, United are coming for me, you have to make this happen and all that you know. So they started talking and discussing. I didn’t sleep throughout that night, because it was going to end at 7 am, Shanghai time, and the transfer [window] is going to close there. So, from 11 pm, there was paperwork, negotiating and all that, for the loan deal and all that, so we are talking and other teams are calling them, wanting me, but I told my agent that this is what I want. I want to come here."

Ighalo is currently believed to be on short-term loan contract at Manchester United and is being paid £100,000 a week. Can he be Manchester United's unlikely saviour this season?

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Odion Ighalo becomes the first Nigerian to play for Manchester United

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