Before COVID-19 disease halted football in England and across the world, the Nigerian forward had spent two months with the Red Devils, enough time to assess the quality of his new teammates.
Odion Ighalo has lauded the technical and goalscoring ability of Anthony Martial as well as the intelligence and vision of Bruno Fernandes, picking the duo as the United stars who have stood out since he moved to the club in January.
Man United only brought in the former Watford striker on transfer deadline day as an emergency alternative for injured star man Marcos Rashford.
But Ighalo has settled quickly at Old Trafford, warming his way into the hearts of teammates, manager, and fans alike with his humility, passion, and application that have coughed up four goals in eight games.
Martial has been equally impressive during that period as well, netting four strikes in his last six games before the pandemic-induced shutdown.
Ighalo was full of praise for the young French forward in a chat with the United Hangout:
“Anthony, since I came, he’s been scoring goals and doing so well, fighting a lot. He is a great player. He has great technique.
“He can do anything with the ball, and he’s been doing fantastically well. I just hope he keeps going and scoring more goals, and we end the season very well.”
Fernandes has also made an immediate impact for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, with the Portuguese midfielder scoring twice and providing three assists in his first five league appearances, after joining from Sporting Lisbon in January for an initial fee of £46.6m.
Ighalo had previously trained with Fernandes at Udinese before the pair were reunited at Old Trafford, and the Nigerian believes that Fernandes’ performances will get even better as he settles into life at his new club.
“He is intelligent, he has foresight, he has vision,” Ighalo added. “He sees what he wants to do with the ball before it comes to him.
“He comes from a very different place to the Premier League. When that guy has settled down, he’s going to take the Premier League by storm.”
