Many understandably sneered at the loan signing of Odion Ighalo but Manchester United may have the last laugh. Given the complexities of the January transfer market, very few legitimate candidates appeared attainable and United had late competition from Tottenham Hotspur for Ighalo.
Despite scoring 40 goals in 100 appearances in England with Watford, many were far from impressed with the 30-year-old's arrival.
Ighalo was not United's first choice, yet the risk assessment in signing a striker on loan from a Chinese club was low. Ighalo netted 46 goals in his 6,678 minutes for Shanghai Shenhua that averaged at an impressive 0.62 goals per 90 minutes.
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