Why Ighalo is important for Manchester United’s top four chase – Ole

Manchester United Manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, says the addition of player like Odion Ighalo to the club’s ranks in January is key to their chase for Champions League qualification.

United bought Bruno Fernandes from Sporting Lisbon for around £47m in January and also secured a loan deal for Ighalo from Chinese side Shanghai Shenhua.

Both players have settled well at United, with Fernandes playing at the heart of United’s midfield, while Ighalo has scored five goals in 15 appearances for the Red Devils.

United also went unbeaten since January, only losing their first game to Chelsea on Sunday in the semi-final of the FA Cup.

Solskjaer sees the addition of the duo and the return to fitness of Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford as instrumental to this, saying their addition has added resilience to the team

“I think we’ve grown over the whole season,” Solskjaer told reporters ahead of United’s Wednesday’s (today) Premier League clash against West Ham United.

“The additions of Odion, Bruno and Paul coming back, (plus) Marcus coming back is a strength for us. We are better as a group and more robust and resilient.”

“The proof is in the pudding and we’ll have to see on Wednesday how they perform.”

United will qualify for the Champions League if they remain unbeaten in their final two games of the season – against West Ham today and their final tie against Leicester City on Sunday.