Manchester United of England striker, Odion Jude Ighalo has received massive support for a full contract with The Red Devils, as former Liverpool battler, John Barnes believes the Nigerian star is worth every penny of the £20m price tag placed on him by his parent club, Shanghai Shenhua of China, megasportsarena.com reports.
Although many other observers, including former United defender, Gary Neville, earlier argued that Ighalo is not worth what Shenhua are telling The Red Devils to pay if they want him to stay beyond his short-term loan, which ends on May 31, Barnes insists it is a good bargain.
The England ex-international is basing his verdict on the fact that Ighalo has previous experience playing in the English Premier League and that he has already excelled since his arrival at Old Trafford in the January transfer window, as he scored four goals in eight matches across just two months, with only three starting spots n all.
Although Barnes admitted Ighalo has dropped n value since then, due to the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has also affected the market weight and valuation of every other player across the world, he conceded that United should be able to take a gamble on the former Super Eagles’ striker based on the fact that he has been known to prove his mettle over time.
Barnes told tribuna.com: “When you think about Odion Ighalo, a proven goal scorer and has experience in the Premier League, then £20m is very good value in this market. However, if you are looking at the current situation with coronavirus and the transfer market, with a player who won’t necessarily start every game, he is not worth the money.
“Under normal circumstances, £20m is nothing for a player in the transfer market, If I look at an overall player, someone who is happy to be a squad player and will help back-up players like Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, then yes, he would be a decent signing for Manchester United.”
