Manchester United of England striker, Odion Jude Ighalo has admitted that he will have to put in extra efforts in order to gain prominence and relevance with The Red Devils, especially with the arrival of fresh challenge in attack, megasportsarena.com reports
Specifically, the arrival of Uruguayan icon, Edinson Cavani at Old Trafford has further cast Ighalo down the perking order of strikers available to the coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but the former Super Eagles’ top scorer said he is determined to stay relevant in the face of an obvious increase in competition for places with the squad.
Ighalo could get the opportunity to stage a bold challenge for contention this weekend, as United line out with Anthony Martial suspended and Cavani self-isolating after his arrival from outside England, meaning the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations highest goals scorer should fancy his chances of being part of the trip to Newcastle United.
It will be a welcome turnaround for Ighalo, who was left out of The Red Devils’ squads that toiled against Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur before the international break, and he is yet to make his full English Premier League debut since landing at Old Trafford nine months ago.
His burst of four goals in his first seven matches and two months appears to have faded, as the striker on loan from Shanghai Shenhua of China has only had 12 EPL appearances off the bench, but he has started both games in this season’s Carabao Cup, against Luton Town and Brighton & Hove.
There is now a huge possibility of Ighalo adding a leading role in the EPL this weekend, and the former Julius Berger FC of Lagos, Prime FC of Oshogbo, Lyn Oslo of Norway, Udinese of Italy, Granada of Spain, Watford of England and Changchun Yatai of China star is already buzzing with expectations, as he says he is up to the fight now facing him in the club.
Ighalo posited: “It’s good for the team, for everybody to be on their toes to work hard. For a big team, like Manchester United, you have to have competition for players to do well and I welcome the new guys coming in. They will bring more challenges to everyone in the team, to work hard for their positions to play in the team.”
