Huge lift for Odion Ighalo as Solskjaer gives Man Utd signing nudge

© Getty Images

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has dropped the biggest hint yet that Manchester United will sign loan striker Odion Ighalo on a permanent deal this summer.

Ighalo has between now and the end of the season to stamp his mark on Solskjaer’s squad, having been brought in on loan from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua on deadline day in January.

window.dojoRequire(["mojo/signup-forms/Loader"], function(L) { L.start({"baseUrl":"mc.us2.list-manage.com","uuid":"0dbf0c85a1d332bd7bb792371","lid":"9014791a03","uniqueMethods":true}) })

The Nigerian suffered a turbulent few weeks uponhis arrival, though, after coronavirus concerns prevented him from travelling to United’s training camp in Marbella before he was banned from training with his teammates while in an incubation period.

However, since then Ighalo has featured in five matches for United and got his first goal for the club in last Thursday’s comprehensive Europa League win over Club Brugge at Old Trafford.

That drew big praise from Solskjaer after the game, who said: “The goal was an example of what you want from Odion because the ball has gone over him, he spins quickly, gets in front of the centre back and just taps it in. That’s what we have been lacking a little bit.

“If we hadn’t had Odion tonight then Mason [Greenwood] would have had to play and there’s the game on Sunday [to think about].

“He was a good signing, we know what we signed when we got Odion.”

Ighalo is hoping to get another chance to impress on Thursday night when United travel to Derby to play for a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals; ahead of the game, United legend Wayne Rooney has sent his old supporters a message about Solskjaer and his reign.

And Ighalo’s hopes of securing that permanent move to the club he supported as a child have been further lifted ahead of the trip to Pride Park with Solskjaer offering the biggest nudge yet that the move could become long term.

“It doesn’t hurt [living the dream] but he’s here on merit, he’s here because he is a goalscorer and a different type of striker for us,” Solskjaer told Sky Sports.

“We might get to the summer and think we want to extend this, who know?

“He’s come in as a breath of fresh air as well. He had chances in his five minutes against Chelsea, he scored against Bruges, he had chances against Watford, he had a very good save [from a shot] against Everton – there have been good saves, he doesn’t miss the target very often.

“Even for Anthony (Martial), Mason (Greenwood) and Marcus (Rashford) to learn that it is where the sharks are swimming. It’s comfortable outside the box and you can have a few shots.

“It’s in there where it might be a bit tougher and you might get hurt – that’s where you get goals.”

United, meanwhile, have seen their hopes of signing a Serie A hot-shot boosted after his side apparently put him up for sale for £60million.