Odion Ighalo has been handed the no.25 squad number at Manchester United after the lifelong Reds supporter joined the club on a six-month loan deal from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua.
That shirt has been vacant since Antonio Valencia left Old Trafford in the summer, bringing an end to his 10-season career as a United player.
The former Watford striker arrived in Manchester on Sunday morning after deadline day negotiations saw United seal a six-month loan deal for the 30-year-old.
The transfer is a stop-gap to help Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side for the last few months of the season with Marcus Rashford out injured and it was confirmed he would wear Antonio Valencia’s old number for the remainder of the season.
Reports claim he picked the number because it is popular in Nigeria as Nwankwo Kanu wore it at Arsenal.
Ighalo is in Manchester while his teammates enjoy their holiday time during the winter break but he should be with them when they head off for warm weather training next week. And the 30-year-old will no doubt be looking forward to his first training session as he’s already described his move like a dream.
