Ighalo Reveals If He’ll Return To The Super Eagles After Signing A New Deal At United

The 31-year-old retired from international duty last year after Nigeria’s third-place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt

Odion Ighalo has opened the door for a potential return to the Super Eagles, almost a year after he decided to quit the national team.

Ighalo, 31, played his last game for the Super Eagles in their third-place clash against Tunisia at the 2019 AFCON in Egypt.

The former Watford man who won the tournament’s golden boot scored the winning goal that night as Nigeria picked up the bronze medal in the competition.

Shortly after, Ighalo announced his retirement from international duty, and that came as a shock to many Nigerians.

While the reason for his decision was unknown then, Ighalo revealed recently he retired because of the stress of travelling from his Chinese base to Nigeria.

Although he’s still on the books of Shanghai Shenhua, the former Granada man is currently on loan at Manchester United, and that has opened a door for a potential return to international football.

Ighalo joined the Red Devils from the Chinese side in an initial loan deal which should’ve kept him at Old Trafford till the end of May.

But with the coronavirus affecting the football calendar, United agreed a deal with Shanghai to keep Ighalo for another seven months.  With the deal now official, Ighalo revealed anything is possible in regards to a potential Super Eagles return.

” I am still in contact with Gernot Rohr and Amaju Pinnick, and they congratulated me on my loan deal,” Ighalo told Ifeanyi Udeze on Brila Fm. 

“I am still thinking of returning to the national team, but right now, I want to concentrate on my club career”

“I left the national team because of the distance (China-Nigeria & back), but now that I am in Manchester, and just like in my life and career, you can never say never,” he added.

Before his retirement, Ighalo scored 16 goals in 34  appearances for the Super Eagles.