Following his €23.3m move from Watford to Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai, Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo has stated his desire to return to England.
After two and half years in England with Watford, Ighalo signed four-year-deal with Yatai where he will earn close to £200,000 per week.
The striker who was unveiled at his new club on Monday, February 6 has revealed that he would love to return to England.
“Of course, if it is possible to come back to the Premier League one day, I would love to do that. It is a great league with so many great teams and the fans are brilliant, so you never know what might happen in the future,” the striker said.
Ighalo like so many other football fans in Nigeria are huge fans of the Premier League which majority watch every matchday from filled viewing centres and bars all over the country.
Ighalo grew up in the Ajegunle suburb of Lagos, where he dreamt of playing in the Premier League as an up and coming football player. “Since I was young, I dreamed of playing in the Premier league.
As a child in Nigeria I watched the Premier League on television,” Ighalo told FIFA official website in January 2016.
“It has not been easy because I have gone through many countries. But maybe God said it is my time now to have this breakthrough in England.
“So I am happy and enjoying every moment of it. But I also want to keep working at it and am learning every day.”
At that time, Ighalo was on cloud nine living his dream of playing and scoring regularly in the Premier League. His insane goalscoring form at that time attracted huge offers from China, but the striker turned them down.
In Nigeria 97% of football fans follow the Premier League and it millions watching him back home almost every weekend, it is easy to see why Ighalo was loving life in the Premier League.
His form in front of goal, however, nosedived after that largely due to the system of new Watford coach, Walter Mazzarri who replaced Quique Sanchez Flores.
Under Flores, Ighalo was deployed up front alongside captain Troy Deeney to devastating effect. The striker scored 39 goals in 100 appearances, finishing 2015 as the year’s top scorer across the top four English divisions.
Wazzarri, however, preferred to have just one man up front and Ighalo used farther away from goal. That system added to his misery as the goals dried off, costing him his place in the starting XI.
Before he moved to China, two Premier League clubs were interested in signing him but pulled out due to Watford’s asking price.
“West Brom wanted me but Watford put a price on me that they could not afford and, two days before the close of the transfer window, Crystal Palace tried to sign me too, but were put off by the price Watford put on me,” the Super Eagles striker said.
For now, Ighalo has a new challenge in Chine he is excited about.
“I am looking forward to the challenge of playing in China,” Ighalo added.
“I know life goes on and I must do what is best for me. My agent, Ladi [Salami], worked hard of sorting my future out and I happy with the deal.
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