Man Utd boss Solskjaer welcomes Ighalo loan: ´A great lad and very professional´

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said Odion Ighalo is a “great lad and very professional” as the Premier League giants completed a deadline-day loan move for the Shanghai Shenhua striker.

Ighalo leaves Chinese Super League (CSL) outfit Shenhua for Manchester on loan until the end of the season at Old Trafford, where there is reportedly no option to buy the Nigeria international.

The 30-year-old arrives at the Theatre of Dreams to help fill the void left by injured star forward Marcus Rashford, who has been ruled out for at least two months.

“Odion is an experienced player. He will come in and give us an option of a different type of centre-forward for the short spell he’s staying with us,” Solskjaer said on Friday.

“A great lad and very professional, he will make the most of his time here.”

 #MUFC can confirm that Odion Ighalo will join us on loan from Shanghai Shenhua until the end of the season.

Welcome, Odion! 

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 1, 2020

Ighalo’s loan deal comes after United finally signed Sporting CP captain Bruno Fernandes for a fee of £46.5million (€55m) and a potential further £21.1m (€25m) in add-ons on Thursday.

After finally concluding their Fernandes chase, United turned to attacking reinforcements amid Rashford’s injury and the Red Devils beat the transfer deadline to bring former Watford striker Ighalo to the club.

Ighalo, who was previously linked to United during former boss Louis van Gaal’s tenure after scoring 40 goals from 100 appearances across all competitions for Watford, has starred in China.

After scoring 36 goals in all competitions in two seasons with Chinese side Changchun Yatai, Ighalo netted 10 times for Shenhua last term.