Shanghai Greenland Shenhua of China striker, Odion Jude Ighalo has been cited as the man to help his former club, Watford overcome their current woes and avoid relegation to the English Championship, megasportsarena.com reports.
Although Ighalo left Watford under a cloud three years ago, when his goals scoring form dipped, The Hornets’ fans still remember how he almost single-handedly shot them back to the English Premier League two seasons earlier.
Consequently, the word out of Vicarage Road is that Ighalo should return to help them selvage the ongoing season and avoid demotion, which appears looming, with the team having sacked two coaches already in the campaign, yet still anguishing last on the log.
Ighalo scored 39 goals in 99 appearances for Watford before he was sold to Changchun Yatai of China for £20m in January 2017, then joined Shenhua after two seasons, but TEAMtalk reports that his current club are open to granting him a loan transfer, with a view to a permanent move.
However, any talk about Ighalo rejoining Watford would have to consider that the former Super Eagles’ striker is also under the radar of five other EPL clubs, with Everton, West Ham United, Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Southampton also said to be interested in his signature should he choose to return to England in the January transfer window.
The onus would then be on Ighalo to either hold a soft-spot for Watford, who are currently last in the EPL, after 14 games, with just one win and nine goals, even after the Hertfordshire-based club sacked the manager they recalled from Shanghai, Quique Sanchez Flores on Monday after a 2-1 defeat to Southampton on Saturday.
Flores was the one who took Ighalo to Shenhua, after working together with him during their days together at Watford, but the gaffer opted for a shock return to Vicarage Road, to replace his Spanish compatriot, Rudi Gracia earlier this season, leaving this year’s Africa Cup of Nations top scorer behind in Shanghai, and will not be there to welcome him back with The Hornets.
