Manchester United loanee Odion Ighalo has been offered a two-year contract extension worth more than £400,000 (N175.6 million) per week by his parent club Shanghai Shenhua.
The Chinese club want to reward the Nigerian striker for his good form at United, where he has scored four goals in his first three starts.
The 30-year-old’s loan in England expires on May 31, but as Sky Sports reported on Monday, it is likely to be extended until June 30 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Ighalo’s current contract expires in December 2022 and Shanghai want to keep him until December 2024.
The new deal would see Ighalo earn £400,000 a week before tax, which is said to have flattered the striker.
His focus, though, is on United until his loan spell expires.
He will wait to see if United offer him a permanent deal before making a final decision on his future.
Ighalo has always said it has been a dream playing for United, the club he supported as a boy.
Ighalo’s impact has been both instant and impressive.
Before a ball had even been kicked, the 30-year-old’s infectious application drew admiration from his teammates and manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who knew at the very least he’d made a valuable addition to his squad.
“The best thing about him is his personality,” the United boss remarked.
And when the time eventually came for Ighalo on the pitch, he proved he had the aptitude to match his first-class attitude.
Just as he looked to have really settled into his groove, the coronavirus outbreak limited Ighalo to just eight United appearances, but in that handful of games he more than left his mark.
Premier League minutes – and, for that matter, goals – have proven tough to come by for Ighalo, but the half-an-hour he has got under his belt has proven to be eventful.
Having nearly marked his top-flight debut for United with a goal, seconds after coming on in their 2-0 victory at Chelsea on February 17, Ighalo’s superb hold-up play and back heel laid the foundation for the attack, which led to Scott McTominay’s strike in the Manchester derby.
But it is in the cup competitions where Ighalo has really come to the fore.
The striker has scored four goals in three starts, the latest of which came in emphatic fashion as he rifled United into the lead against LASK in the last 16 of the Europa League, hours before football was suspended.
It was a strike that left Solskjaer purring.
All great strikers are judged first and foremost on their goal return, but Ighalo brings so much more to the table – he brings something different.
In his 31 minutes of Premier League football for United, the Nigerian has not only demonstrated he knows his role in Solskjaer’s squad, but shown how much he relishes it, offering a presence, a focal point up top that occupies opposition defenders and brings others into play.
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