Manchester United have announced the extension of the loan deal that brought Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo to the club.
United announced the extension on Monday in a news release on their website.
The release said the club; “reached agreement with Shanghai Greenland Shenhua to extend the loan deal for Odion Ighalo.”
“The Nigerian striker’s stay was initially due to end on 31 May but he will now remain with the Reds until 31 January 2021, enabling him to build on an impressive start to life with the club he supported as a boy.
“Ighalo’s tally of four goals in eight appearances so far includes at least one strike in each of his three starts – against Club Brugge, Derby County (2) and LASK,” the club added.
Speaking further on, the club said: “Today’s confirmation is a timely boost for United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as he continues to prepare his squad for this month’s resumption of competitive football.”
It added that: “The Premier League’s proposed return date is 17 June and the Emirates FA Cup quarter-finals have been lined up for the weekend of 27 and 28 June.
“However, the actual fixtures are still to be finalised and ManUtd.com will publish all the details of United’s rescheduled games in due course.”
Although the player is yet to react publicly to the extension of his contract, he posted a simple “Happy New Month fams” on his official Twitter handle (@ighalojude) earlier on Monday.
Happy new month Fams😊❤️ pic.twitter.com/vfuy2CVYPR
— Odion Jude Ighalo (@ighalojude) June 1, 2020
The post was accompanied with a picture of him donning a Manchester United-crested polo and with his signatory smile, which the club posted a tweet on May 29 to celebrate.
We've said it before and we'll say it again:
That. Damned. Smile. 😍 https://t.co/t7YVIh7zdp pic.twitter.com/jF0PeCbd4S
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 29, 2020
