Could extended Man United stay help Ighalo build Premier League legacy?

After protracted negotiations, Manchester United confirmed on Monday they had reached an agreement with Shanghai Shenhua to extend Odion Ighalo’s loan deal till January 2021.

The former Nigeria international’s initial spell ended at the end of May, and his absence for what is set to be a frenzied end to the campaign would have been a blow.

With Man United’s busy schedule set to see them play nine Premier League games in a compressed time frame, with FA Cup games and Europa League matches potentially to follow, having one less player to navigate a tricky period of fixtures would’ve been a challenge.

In fairness, it’s the ultimate credit to Ighalo that United pulled out all the stops to see to the extension, given how important he’d been for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after arriving at the end of January. While there had been a fair bit of skepticism at the time he joined on deadline day, the former Watford man proved to be an important option in the cup competitions. 

The forward’s return before football was suspended was four goals and one assist in eight appearances, with the goals coming in all three starts for the club. His contribution in the second and third were particularly noteworthy: two goals in the Red Devils FA Cup reunion with Wayne Rooney’s Derby County and a goal and assist in the Manchester giants’ European trip to LASK Linz led to 3-0 and 5-0 wins respectively. 

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Ighalo’s spectacular strike against the Austrian side won the club’s Goal of the Month award for March, and it was a shame there weren’t fans at the Linzer Stadion to witness such a brilliant effort. 

Now that the dust has settled on the uncertainty of his short-term future, what next for the West African, and what will add up to success over the next eight months for Solskjaer’s men?

Of course, a trophy in one of the aforementioned competitions while securing a Champions League place next season will do the trick, in theory. Given he’d been involved in their domestic cup run and Europa League chase before both were halted in March, the expectation is for continuity for the Nigerian in both tournaments. 

The Premier League choosing to implement’s IFAB’s allowance for five substitutions for the remainder of the ongoing season will also be to Ighalo’s benefit, as it increases his chances of gametime in the top flight as well. Before the league’s suspension, he’d featured for a combined 30 minutes across four games against Chelsea. old side Watford, Everton and city rivals Man City, and that ought to increase with games coming thick and fast. 

There’s also no European or domestic cup football until August. tentatively at least, so the tweaking of the rule gives Solskjaer, who has a full complement of players, a lot of wiggle room as regards selection. 

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However, one major sticking point for Ighalo is the return of Marcus Rashford. 

The Afcon 2019 top scorer joined the club in January largely due to their top scorer’s injury and the subsequent inability to get any of their striking targets, including the hugely talented Erling Haaland, who joined Borussia Dortmund. 

With the Englishman now back in the fold, it reduces the chances of Ighalo getting ample gametime. While the sheer frequency of games to play in limited time for the rest of 19/20 means appearances this year may not be affected, it’ll make for a fascinating watch how events pan out in the first half of next season.

In fairness, looking that far ahead may be far too premature, but the options at the club in attack and the Red Devils’ long-standing desire to sign another frontman reportedly remains.

Even though the uncertainty surrounding the summer transfer market gives Man United an insurance policy with Ighalo, still he’s behind Rashford, Anthony Martial and arguably Mason Greenwood in the pecking order. 

He wasn’t getting Premier League starts in Rashford's absence, and chances of that suddenly changing with the big hitters potentially healthy next season are slim.

IFAB aren’t expected to keep the five substitutes rule for next season either, further limiting the frontman’s prospects of time on the pitch next season.  

It’d have been bitterly disappointing for Ighalo not to finish the current season at Old Trafford, but when the dust eventually settles, a lesser role may await the Nigerian forward at the Theatre of Dreams when next season kicks off.