Ighalo started his career at Nigerian club Prime and moved on to another Nigerian club Julius Berger before finally getting his first European move in 2007 to Norwegian club Lyn.
Former Super Eagles striker Odion Jude Ighalo has shown interest in playing in Nigeria's elite soccer league, the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), but under certain conditions.
Ighalo started his career at Nigerian club Prime and moved on to another Nigerian club Julius Berger before finally getting his first European move in 2007 to Norwegian club Lyn.
The former Philadelphia Eagles striker is currently without a club affiliation following the termination of his contract with Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal.
Ighalo told Elegbete TV, would not completely rule out playing in the league but did say that there would be some challenges to playing in the NPL.
He said, “If security is guaranteed, along with good media coverage and competent referees, I can play for six months or even a year without receiving a salary.”
Odion Ighalo Biography
Ighalo started his career at Nigerian club Prime and moved on to another Nigerian club Julius Berger before finally getting his first European move in 2007 to Norwegian club Lyn.
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A year later, he was signed by Italian club Udinese but found game time hard to come by and then spent most of his tenure on two separate loan spells with Spanish club Granada.
Ighalo scored 16 goals to help Granada seal promotion to La Liga after which he also joined Watford in the English Championship.
He was integral in the club's promotion to the Premier League in the 2014–15 season where he led the Hornets with 16 goals in 37 games in his first Premier League season.
In January 2017, Ighalo joined Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai for a reported £20 million where he scored 36 goals in 55 games in his two years.
One more year in China followed with Shanghai Shenhua where he scored 10 goals in 19 games and as such attracted the attention of his favourite club Manchester United.
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In January 2020, Ighalo returned to England, joining Manchester United on loan, initially until the end of the 2019–20 season; the loan was then extended until January 2021 and he managed five goals in 23 games for the club.
His next adventure was in Saudi Arabia with Al Shabab where he scored 22 goals in 32 games across two seasons after which he joined another team in the same country, Al Hilal where he still plays.
Ighalo led Al Hilal to the Saudi Professional Football League title in his first season in 2021/22 also finishing as the top scorer in the league.
He still plays for Al Hilal and just finished the season with 26 goals in 37 games across all competitions.
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