Former Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo has detailed how he snubbed Jose Mourinho’s
Tottenham Hotspur for a move to Manchester United in the winter transfer market of January 2020.

The odds were stacked against Ighalo joining the Red Devils as they were linked with last-minute deals for Salomón Rondón and Joshua King, two strikers ahead of the Nigerian in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s pecking order of targets.

In addition, other factors that could have stopped the deal from happening were his age, the coronavirus pandemic and criticism of the Chinese Super League.

Ighalo revealed that the then manager Jose Mourinho attempted to persuade him to join Tottenham Hotspur but his mind was already made up on moving to his dream club, Manchester United.

“When Tottenham heard that Manchester United were in talks with Ighalo, they started calling my agent because Harry Kane was injured then,” Ighalo said to Elegbete TV Sports.

“I am a man of principle, I got a pay cut going to Manchester United.

Tottenham were ready to pay me all the wages I was earning in China, they were ready to pay a higher loan fee than Manchester United, so my director in Shanghia Shenhua was trying to force me to accept Tottenham Hotspur.

“He added : “I told my agent I didn’t care, that he should make the Manchester United deal happen if they are serious.

“He sent me their proposal, I saw the letter heading of Manchester United, I took a picture of it and kept it.

“I didn’t want to speak to Jose because if I speak to him I have the feeling somebody can easily manipulate me because I don’t want to offend anyone”.

Ighalo spent one year at Manchester United, scoring five goals in 23 matches across all competitions.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel