Odion Ighalo

nigerian association football musician

“ Ighalo ” redirects here. For the Filipino basketball actor, see Kenneth Ighalo

Odion Jude Ighalo ( digest 16 June 1989 ) is a nigerian professional football player who plays as a striker for Saudi club Al Shabab. After starting his career at nigerian clubs Prime and Julius Berger, Ighalo moved to norwegian club Lyn in 2007. A class later, he was signed by italian baseball club Udinese, spending most of his tenure on two freestanding loan spells with spanish club Granada. In 2014, he signed for Championship club Watford and was built-in in the golf club ‘s promotion to the Premier League in the 2014–15 season. In January 2017, Ighalo joined taiwanese Super League baseball club Changchun Yatai for a reported £20 million, before moving onto Shanghai Shenhua. In January 2020, Ighalo returned to the Premier League, joining Manchester United on lend, initially until the end of the 2019–20 season ; the loanword was then extended until January 2021. Ighalo made his introduction for the Nigeria national team in March 2015 against Uganda. He represented the state at the 2018 World Cup and was the highest goalscorer in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification crusade. He finally led Nigeria to a third gear position finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where he finished in the contest ‘s team of the Tournament and was crowned top scorer. [ 4 ]

Club career

early career

Born in Lagos [ 5 ] and raised in Edo, [ 6 ] Ighalo played in his area with Prime and Julius Berger, where he was discovered by FIFA agentive role Marcelo Houseman who recommended him to Atta Aneke, being subsequently taken on trial by Norway ‘s Lyn. [ 7 ] He made his Tippeligaen debut on 16 September 2007 at the age of just 18, scoring in a 2–0 home winnings against Viking. He scored six goals in 13 matches in his second gear year to help his team to the seventh position, and subsequently arise interest from other clubs in the nation, with Brann reporting Lyn to the norwegian Football Federation for unfairness in the negotiation process. [ 8 ]

Udinese and Granada

On 30 July 2008, Ighalo signed for Udinese in Italy, moving aboard teammate Jo Inge Berget and agreeing to a five-year contract. [ 9 ] He appeared rarely in Serie A in his debut temper, scoring against Cagliari in a 6–2 home rout. [ 10 ] Four of his five league appearances came as a late substitute. [ citation needed ] Ighalo was loaned to Granada in summer 2009, as separate of the partnership agreement between Udinese and the Spaniards. [ 11 ] [ 12 ] [ 13 ] He scored 17 times in his first year ( playoffs included ) [ 14 ] and five in the moment, as both seasons ended in promotion ; [ 15 ] [ 16 ] this was interspersed with a abbreviated loanword stint second in Italy, with Cesena. [ 17 ] Ighalo continued playing with Granada in the following years, still owned by the Udine club. [ 18 ] [ 19 ] He played his first La Liga equal on 27 August 2011, starting and playing the full moon 90 minutes in a 0–1 home loss to Real Betis. [ 20 ]

Watford

Ighalo warming up for Watford in 2014 Ighalo joined Watford on a season-long loanword deal from Udinese, on 29 July 2014. [ 21 ] He made his debut for the English club in the first base orotund of the League Cup away to Stevenage on 12 August, [ 22 ] and scored his first goal in the Championship against Brentford on 30 September by tucking the ball home after his initial punishment was saved by David Button, in a 2–1 home win. [ 23 ] [ 24 ] On 24 October 2014, Watford terminated Ighalo ‘s lend and re-signed him on a permanent deal the lapp day after Udinese released him from his shrink. [ 25 ] precisely three months belated, he scored four-second-half goals and was voted Man of the match in a 7–2 home plate route of Blackpool, who led 0–2 at half time ; [ 26 ] he took his league reckoning to 14 on 10 February 2015, after netting a brace to help his team arrive from behind at Brentford to win it 2–1 – his second came through an injury time header. [ 27 ] Ighalo scored in his Premier League debut on 8 August 2015, replacing José Manuel Jurado 16 minutes from clock time and putting the visitors ahead 2–1 in an eventual 2–2 draw away against Everton for the season opener. [ 28 ] He netted doubly in a 2–0 home winnings over West Ham United on 31 October, reaching seven goals for the temper and becoming the highest club scorer in the competition after just 11 matches. [ 29 ] On 20 December, Ighalo scored in a Watford victory for the fourth consecutive time, netting a brace in a 3–0 win over Liverpool. [ 30 ] His five-goal haul earned him December ‘s Premier League Player of the Month, while his coach Quique Sánchez Flores won the equivalent award. [ 31 ] Ighalo broke a 599-minute personal score drought on 13 March 2016, with a goal in a 2–1 winnings at holders Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup, putting the Hornets into the last four for the first time in nine years. [ 32 ] On 12 August he signed a new five-year contract [ 33 ] but, the following season, he scored precisely one league finish and did not find the net in any of his last 15 games. [ 34 ]

Changchun Yatai

On 31 January 2017, Ighalo joined chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai for a reported £20 million. [ 34 ] He ranked moment in the score charts in his second base season at 21, but his team suffered delegating. [ 35 ] [ 36 ]

Shanghai Shenhua

Ighalo transferred to Shanghai Shenhua on 14 February 2019. [ 37 ] [ 38 ] In March, he said he turned down a be active to Barcelona the previous calendar month. [ 39 ] In March 2020, he was offered a condense extension deserving over £400,000 a workweek by Shenhua. [ 40 ]

lend to Manchester United

On 31 January 2020, Ighalo returned to the Premier League, joining Manchester United on loanword until the end of the season. [ 41 ] [ 42 ] In doing so, he became the first Nigerian actor, and the seventh African, to join the club. [ 43 ] After the affect was confirmed, Ighalo revealed that he had taken a pay cut to make the move happen, calling it a “ dream ” to join the golf club he has long supported. [ 44 ] He opted to wear the total 25 shirt, previously worn by United ‘s beginning and longest-serving African player, Quinton Fortune of South Africa. [ 45 ] His presence within the first team was initially blocked as a precautionary measuring stick due to ongoing fears over the COVID-19 outbreak in China. [ 46 ] [ 47 ] After three stand-in appearances, Ighalo made his full debut for United in their Europa League round of 32 second leg match against Club Brugge on 27 February. He scored his first United finish, which was besides his maiden over goal in a european competition, as the hosts won 5–0. [ 48 ] A week belated, he scored his beginning brace for the baseball club as United drum Derby County 3–0 in the FA Cup. [ 49 ] In United ‘s concluding game before the suspension of football due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ighalo scored a half-volley after juggling the ball in a 5–0 winnings over LASK ; it was voted United ‘s goal of the month for March. [ 50 ] With football suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Ighalo ‘s lend set to expire at the end of May, United announced that they had agreed to extend Ighalo ‘s loanword distribute until 30 January 2021. [ 51 ] On 26 January 2021, Ighalo posted a farewell message on social media, ahead of his at hand departure from United at the end of the calendar month. [ 52 ] United confirmed Ighalo ‘s passing the be day. [ 53 ]

Al Shabab

On 4 February 2021, Ighalo joined Saudi Professional League cabaret Al Shabab on a two-and-a-half-year abridge. [ 54 ]

International career

On 24 March 2015, after a series of strong performances for Watford, newly appointed Nigeria interim coach Daniel Amokachi selected Ighalo for the first time, and the latter stated, “ I feel good because it is my dream to play for my country ”. [ 55 ] He won his inaugural crown two days late, starting in a 0–1 friendly home loss to Uganda. [ 56 ] Ighalo was initially named as one of three overage players in Nigeria ‘s police squad for the 2016 Olympic tournament, but he finally did not make the slip to Brazil. [ 57 ] In June 2018, he was named in the 23-man squad for the approaching version of the FIFA World Cup in Russia, [ 58 ] making his beginning appearance in the competition by playing 73 minutes in the 0–2 group degree kill against Croatia ; [ 59 ] in October, he revealed that his family had received death threats after he failed to score in the tournament. [ 60 ] Ighalo scored seven goals in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification political campaign, the most by any player, to help Nigeria qualify for the finals in Egypt belated that year. [ 61 ] He was included in Gernot Rohr ‘s squad, [ 62 ] taking function in all the matches and finding the net against Burundi in the group phase ( 1–0 ), [ 63 ] Cameroon in the circle of 16 ( 3–2 acquire ), [ 64 ] Algeria in the semi-finals ( 1–2 loss ) [ 65 ] and Tunisia in the third-place playoff ( 1–0 ) ; [ 66 ] at the end of the competition, he announced his retirement from the international picture. [ 67 ]

personal biography

Ighalo is a devout Christian, [ 68 ] who besides much dedicates character of his wages for nigerian charitable organisations to help impoverished children, schools and widows below the poverty line. [ 69 ] He is a lifelong Manchester United garter. [ 70 ] Ighalo has three children, two sons and one daughter. [ 71 ] On 22 June, 2021, He was unveiled as an Ambassador of the National Principal ‘s Cup in Abuja by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare. [ 72 ]

career statistics

club

As of match played 26 August 2021

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year[73]

National team
Year
Apps
Goals

Nigeria

2015
7
2

2016
5
1

2017
3
1

2018
10
6

2019
10
6

Total
35
16

Honours

Watford
Shanghai Shenhua
Nigeria
Individual