Odion Ighalo says he watched Kanu, ex-Barcelona star, Man Utd legend as a kid

The 32-year-old forward is one of the most prolific Nigerian strikers in recent years, and he has revealed some of the strikers that had a strong influence on his game 

Super Eagles striker Odion Ighalo has named Kanu Nwankwo, Samuel Eto’o and Dwight Yorke as some of the players he watched while growing up.

Ighalo is one of the best strikers to emerge from Nigeria in recent years, having scored 119 goals so far in his playing career.

The 32-year-old, who grew up in Ajegunle as a football-loving fan, revealed that a couple of former Nigerian players were his idols while growing up, and he also watched a lot of Eto’o and Yorke.

Ighalo said he admired both Kanu and Austin Jay-Jay Okocha, who are arguably two of the greatest Nigerian players ever.

Eto’o is Africa’s greatest player, having turned out for clubs like Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea during his illustrious playing career.

Dwight Yorke had a successful spell with Manchester United and he also had a lot of influence on Ighalo, who later played for the Red Devils.

“As a child growing up, I watched a lot of players, Nigerian players, Ighalo said on Watford’s Youtube page. 

“I watched Kanu, I watched Jay-Jay Okocha, I watched Samuel Eto’o, Dwight Yorke, Andy Cole.”

“I watched a lot of strikers growing up, and I can’t say one is particularly personally I watched.”

“I watched strong guys because I’m a striker, I watched the way they played,” Ighalo added.

The Nigerian international also revealed he is a big fan of former Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil and current Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes.