Arsenal hero, Paul
Merson, has said he would be shocked if Manchester United striker, Odion
Ighalo, turn down a permanent move to the Red Devil and return to Shanghai
Shenhua at the end of the season after being offered £400,000-a-week wages by
the Chinese club.
DAILY POST had reported on
Thursday that Shanghai Shenhua has not given up hope of Ighalo returning to
China and has offered the former Watford star £400,000-a-week
wages to stay on with them.
Ighalo joined the Man
United last January transfer window on a six-month loan deal from Shenhua.
The Nigerian striker has
scored four goals in eight appearances for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side so far
this season, but Merson believes the 30-year-old cannot turn down a permanent
move to stay at Old Trafford even if it means for him to accept a pay cut.
“Now I can say Odion
Ighalo has been outstanding since he joined Man United,” Merson told Sky
Sports.
“He hasn’t played many
matches for Manchester United, but when he’s come off the bench and when he has
got some game time, he looked class.
“Manchester United will
have to make a hard decision Manchester United regarding his future at the club
because if you give him a new contract, can he perform again that next season?
“When you go to a club
on loan, you have got that hunger of wanting to secure a permanent transfer and
prove everybody in the club right and everybody outside the club wrong.
“If you are going on the
form he has shown since he arrived at the club in January, it’s going to be
hard to get rid of him.
“Don’t worry about the
new mega-money offers from Shenhua. Ighalo has said all the right things since
joining Manchester United.
“He has said it many
times that he has dreamed of playing for Man United, so if the Red Devils do
offer him a permanent deal, I cannot see him turning it down.
“Everything has gone
right for him so far, and if Man United does offer him a chance to stay, I’d be
shocked if he walked away,” he said.
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