Odion Ighalo hopeful he’ll finish season with Manchester United

Odion Ighalo is hopeful to finish the season at Manchester United despite his loan expiry on June 30.

The Nigerian forward and boyhood United fan is hopeful that Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua will allow him to stay at Old Trafford beyond the deadline.

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Ighalo, who turns 31 in June, has fit the bill as a fill-in striker for the Red Devils, who had lost Marcus Rashford to injury. He has four goals in eight appearances for United after 46 goals in three seasons abroad.

“I would like to finish the season if it’s possible,” Ighalo told the BBC World Service. “I was in good form, good shape, scoring goals and now we’ve stopped for over a month. I’ve given it my best and hopefully we’ll come back to play. The team had a good momentum before the pandemic started. At the moment I’m on loan, and this will cut short my time at the club.”

United is expected to extend the loan, and it will be interesting to see whether Shanghai agrees to that and is open to another loan stint. The Red Devils, like most clubs in the world, are going to have a boatload of matches during an odd calendar for the next season without as many international breaks.

¡Chulada, Ighalo demostró su talento!👏

😎Qué precisión, su excelente manejo del balón terminó en un GOLAZO 💥@LASK_Official 0-1 @ManUtd#MUFC | #UEL | #LASK pic.twitter.com/VpEkTGhSuo

— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) March 12, 2020