Odion Ighalo to leave Manchester United on May 31st after talks break down

Unfortunately it looks like on-loan Manchester United striker Odion Ighalo’s dream run at Old Trafford is over, as talks with his parent team Shanghai Shenhua have hit an impasse. Ighalo must return to China on May 31st.

The Daily Mail claims that United have “hit a brick wall” in their attempts to keep Ighalo on loan, with Shanghai Shenhua rejecting “United’s requests to keep Ighalo at Old Trafford for another three months.”

The Chinese Super League team are “demanding that the Nigerian striker rejoins them to prepare for the start of the delayed Chinese Super League season” and are so determined to get Ighalo back that they’ve offered him a two-year extension to his contract with a significant pay increase.

It was reported earlier that Shenhua would be open to selling Ighalo, but put a £20m evaluation on him. At 30 years old, Ighalo might be a little too expensive for United — who are focusing on younger signings anyway — on a permanent deal.

The original agreement with Shanghai would have covered the end of the season but with the campaign postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic, Ighalo is set to miss United’s remaining nine Premier League games and the culmination of the FA Cup and the Europa League.