Odion Ighalo to Newcastle United seems unlikely

Newcastle United are linked with the striker, but he likely won’t be joining the Magpies.

With the club still looking for a new striker, Newcastle United are reportedly interested in signing Odion Ighalo this offseason. The Nigerian international is currently on loan with Manchester United from Shanghai Shenhua.

Ighalo, like all of the players linked with Newcastle United, has a different level of likelihood to join the Magpies. In his specific case, the probability is pretty low that he will be playing for the club next season.

That’s not to say that he isn’t a quality option for the new regime. Ighalo has scored four times for the Red Devils since arriving on loan, twice in Europa League play. In his past three seasons in the Chinese Super League, two of those with Changchun Yatai, he tallied 46 goals and eight assists. Before that, he scored 40 goals in 100 matches for Watford.

For Ighalo, a move to Tyneside is unlikely because of a couple of main factors. First, his club in China doesn’t seem overly excited about losing him. They have slapped a price tag on him of 20 million and they reportedly don’t want to allow him to finish the season with United, instead of returning as previously scheduled after May 31st. Also, he stated himself that Manchester United is his dream club. After getting a taste of what it’s like playing for the club, it’s likely that he would try to steer any permanent move to Manchester if he is going to return to the Premier League.

There are definitely worse options than Ighalo and he seems to be a very well-liked player, but with Shanghai Shenhua’s reluctance to move him and his love for Manchester United, I don’t think we will see him in black and white.