Odion Ighalo deserves long-term Man Utd deal, says Nigeria teammate Moses Simon

Odion Ighalo has proved himself and deserves to be tied down to a permanent contract at Manchester United, according to his Nigeria teammate Moses Simon.

The 30-year-old is set to return to parent club Shanghai Shenhua with his loan deal at Old Trafford due to expire at the end of the week.

After scoring four goals in eight games for United since joining in January, the club are yet to secure an extension to keep the striker until the end of the Premier League season.

The Red Devils are reportedly unsure if they want to pay £20 million to secure the forward on a long-term contract, but his fellow Nigeria international Simon believes he has proven his worth.

‘If the Manchester United deal can be sealed permanently, not just a loan deal, I think it will be good for his football, his family and for Nigerian football,’ Simon told Tribal Football.

‘Odion Ighalo has proved to be a good striker in Manchester United in the few games he played.

‘It will be good for Nigeria football to see Ighalo succeed at Old Trafford. He has shown good qualities of succeeding already.’

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted earlier this week that United are ‘in dialogue’ with the Chinese Super League club to extend Ighalo’s deal.

‘The loan deal went until the end of May now, so obviously, he’s supposed to be going back,’ Solskjaer told MUTV.

‘We’re in dialogue. They’ve been great towards us, his club, and allowed him to play for his dream club.

‘It’s been a dream for him and hopefully he can finish off what he started, hopefully with a trophy for us.

‘At the moment, nothing has been agreed. Their league is going to get started soon so we’re just waiting to see.’

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