The signing of Odion Ighalo may have come as a surprise package to the watching world as much as his impressive performance for the Red Devils. It was like a rumour which has always been the case in the transfer window but the dreams of a man (Ighalo) became reality as the Nigerian signed the dotted lines to move to Old Trafford.
At least Nigerians can have their own player featured at the highest level just like Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho has done in recent years for Arsenal and Manchester City respectively.
This move has proven that Nigeria players are not necessarily average but it’s a question of moving to the right club at the appropriate time in order to build their reputation as World-class players.
While we deliberate on this transfer scenario, we take a look at three exceptional Nigerian talents that could easily have been signed by Manchester Unite instead of Odion Ighalo.
Emmanuel Dennis (Club Brugge)
The talented Nigerian striker has been linked to a host of European elite clubs in recent times. He was linked to Manchester United during Jose Mourinho’s regime and he is still under the watching eye of football scouts across Europe.
This is due to his immense quality as we’ve seen in the UEFA Champions League where the striker scored a brace to help his Club Brugge draw 2-2 against Real Madrid.
He’s scored against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United side in the 1-1 draw in Belgium and he was relatively missed in the return leg leading to his side losing 5-0 to the Red Devils.
He will be a good signing for the Red Devils more like Odion Ighalo’s if the case were to arise, as United strengthen their attacking options ahead of the next couple of matches.
Victor Oshimemn (Lille OSC)
The Lille forward is the subject of major transfer requests as clubs around Europe compete for his services. Osimhen is a top target of clubs like Barcelona, Real Madrid, and even Arsenal but the decision is yet to be made due to his contract connection with French club Lille.
A move to Manchester United could be ideal as the club seeks to find a striker that can give them 30 goals per season.
This is the kind of player Osimhen is as he could rekindle the Ruud Van Nistelrooy memories at the theatre of Dreams. Signing him would be a good option as United need a clinical center forward in attack to march their massive reputation like in the past years in the Premier League.
Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal CF)
The talented Nigerian striker has been linked to a host top club in Europe following his breakthrough season in Spanish La Liga.
The young lad Samuel Chukwueze has broken into the Villarreal first team and now features alongside former Arsenal star Santi Cazorla and Paco Alcacer. This has seen him shone on the Yellow shirt while attracting interest with a host of other English sides like Liverpool and Chelsea.
If Manchester United could join the race for his signature it would be a welcome development as his qualities on the wings can help United to break down the opposing defence with ease in the near future.
