Manchester United new signing, Odion Jude Ighalo was eventually left out of The Red Devils’ roster to their warm weather camp in Marbella, Spain, in order to prevent any multiplier effects over his recent sojourn in China, which corona virus is spreading like wildfire, megasportsarena.com reports.
Against initial reports that Ighalo was billed to make his first trip with The Red Devils, after arriving in a season-ending loan deal from Shanghai Shenhua of China, the former Super Eagles’ striker now has to wait with the like of Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba until the squad returns to Manchester next week.
Details of the report out of Old Trafford state that United’s boss, Ole Gunnar Solsksjaer decided to take precautions, in the face of rising fears that Ighalo would not be allowed to return to England should he travel to Spain with the squad, as he had been in China in the past 14 days.
This comes amidst reports that Ighalo is expected to inspire two Nigerian youngsters in The Red Devils’ squad roster for the second half of the season, following the release of their updated list that also has the duo of Ayodeji Sotona and Dillon Hoogewerf.
While Irish-born Sotona and Dutch-born Hoogewerf are included on the list as U21 players and scholars, their teammate in United’s U18 squad, Shola Shoretire has not been selected, as the kid, who has captained England at U16 level, is still a schoolboy though the precocious talent was promoted to the U18 team for the 2019-2020 season.
Ighalo has the biggest shot at becoming the first Nigeria-eligible player in history to feature for Manchester United in the Premier League – something which could happen as early as February 17 when they tackle Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
While Sotona is not on the fringes of United’s U23 squad, Hoogewerf has not featured for that age group since December 16, 2019; while Ighalo, who also has an Italian passport, is among ten players in United’s senior list not classed as a home-grown player.
However, Ighalo will stay behind in Manchester and prepare on his own with specialized drills and some outings with Great Britain’s Olympic taekwondo team, as he aims to keep fit until the squad return to continue their preparations for the next English Premier League match against Chelsea on February 17.
Ighalo had earlier stepped up his personal training, as he aims to make an instant impact at Old Trafford after the EPL’s inaugural winter break, hence the 30-year-old striker’s decision to train with Team GB’s taekwondo contingent, while also working out under the guidance of renowned performance coach, Wayne Richardson, who previously trained Mario Balotelli.
Solskjaer expatiated: “Odion will stay in Manchester, because he arrived from China in the last 14 days. Because of the situation in China, we’re not sure if he’d be allowed back into England if he leaves the country again.
“So, he’s staying here working with a personal coach, individual programme and his family then can settle in England as well. That’s a plus. Of course he might have liked to have come with the players and got to know them, but the risk, we don’t want to take that.”
