Solskjær reveals Ighalo dream as Premier League prepares return

Lagos born Ighalo made the shock loan move from parent club Shanghai Shenhua in the Chinese Super League in the dying minutes of the January transfer window.

Ighalo himself has made it no secret of the love and affection he feels for the Manchester club, relishing the opportunity to join Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s squad and the team he supported as a youth.

But now the Norwegian manager has revealed Ighalo’s true dream and motives as United prepare to go back into action on all fronts in the coming weeks.

Like all major sporting events the world over, the Premier League came to an abrupt halt at the beginning of March this year as the UK was set to go into lockdown.

Now Premier League officials are planning on a 17 June restart after the clubs voted to agree on a return to contact training. Premier League sides have been back at their training facilities for over two weeks now, but under strict measures to only engage in activities that bars players from close contact with one another.

It marks a significant step forward as the English Premier League sets about the enormous task of completing the remaining 92 fixtures of the current season. It sees Premier League prediction sites and online bookmakers whipping into a frenzy to cater to an audience that has been waiting in hopeful anticipation for some time.

That fact is no different for Nigerian football fans as many betting sites in Nigeria prepare to unveil a range of sports betting packages, with the likes of Serie A and La Liga joining the Premier League in a proposed restart in the coming days.

United go into the Premier League after an unwelcome halt to blistering form that saw them undefeated since January, totalling eleven games across all competitions.

The Red Devils, currently in fifth position, have been chasing a highly coveted fourth place finish in the Premier League which will see them qualify for the Champions League, something that eluded Solskjær’s side last season.

United still have to face Sheffield United, Southampton, Bournemouth and West Ham, as they chase Chelsea who are three points above in fourth. The fixtures themselves do not have concrete dates set as of yet.

Although if United do not manage to claim a Champions League berth from a Premier League finish, they do have an alternative route available through the Europa League. This is a competition that Ighalo himself has excelled in, netting in the last two matches.

When United last took to the turf, albeit behind closed doors, Ighalo was one of the scorers in a 5-0 frenzy against Austrian outfit LASK Linz. The second leg at Old Trafford still has to be played, although it’s thought to be a mere formality that United will make it to the next round.

United are current favourites to win the Europa League for a second time, ahead of the likes of Inter Milan, Bayer Leverkusen and Sevilla. At odds of around 3.75 to win the trophy, the odds of a top four finish in the Premier League is slightly less valued at around 2.75. In particular the Betway sign up offer currently represents a great chance to find top odds for United while claiming a market leading bonus.

In conjunction with Ighalo’s contract, Solskjær recently revealed Ighalo’s true dream since joining his boyhood club. “It's been a dream for him and hopefully he can finish what he started and win a trophy with us”, clarified the Norwegian.

Ighalo has been on fire in the Europa League this season but has the added opportunity to claim silverware under United’s mantle with a quarter final date at Norwich City in proposal for the end of this month.