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Manchester United have revealed Odion Ighalo ’s squad number after his shock deadline day arrival at Old Trafford.
The former Watford striker arrived in Manchester from China on Sunday, following his six-month loan switch from Shanghai Shenhua.
The 30-year-old, who grew up as a United fan idolising Dwight Yorke and Andrew Cole, joins the Old Trafford club for the remainder of the season.
The Nigerian international will wear No 25 during his stay in Manchester.
“It is a dream come true because since I was kid I always dreamt about Man United,” Ighalo said upon his arrival. “This is reality now. It has been crazy, but I am happy to be in Manchester and this is a great opportunity for me.
Show all 21 1 /21Transfer window power rankings Transfer window power rankings January transfer power rankings
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Transfer window power rankings 20. Chelsea It's been a bleak window for Frank Lampard, who repeatedly called for reinforcements and yet has seen nobody arrive. Edinson Cavani, Dries Mertens, Olivier Giroud is set to stay against his will, while Tariq Lamptey's refusal to sign a new contract has only added salt to the wound.
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Transfer window power rankings 19. Bournemouth The Cherries have had to be cautious, considering their financial position and the threat of relegation. Sam Surridge has been recalled from his loan spell at Swansea, while Josh King has been heavily linked with a deadline day move to Manchester United. If the forward does leave, it's hard to see Eddie Howe's goal-shy side kicking on in the second half of the season.
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Transfer window power rankings 18. Everton Richarlison isn't going anywhere. Not even for an £85m that doesn't exist. Despite Carlo Ancelotti's arrival, there's very little to report aside from Cenk Tosun departing on loan. The club still can't manage to get Oumar Niasse off the books.
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Transfer window power rankings 17. Norwich Daniel Farke's side have signed German journeyman Lukas Rupp from Hoffenheim as well as Ondrej Duda from Hertha Berlin. With little resources to dip into, the Canaries have, most importantly, held onto their best players, but will that be enough to secure safety?
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Transfer window power rankings 16. Crystal Palace It's a window which could still veer in either direction. Roy Hodgson has repeatedly called for new signings but has so far only seen Cenk Tosun arrive on loan. Extremely highly rated England youth international Nathan Ferguson is set to arrive today, though, as the club brace to miss out on Jarrod Bowen.
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Transfer window power rankings 15. Southampton Kyle Walker-Peters has arrived on loan from Spurs in a straight switch as Cedric Soares joins Arsenal. Aside from that, though, there's been very little activity on the south coast with the owners content after Ralph Hasenhuttl's recent resurgence.
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Transfer window power rankings 14. Burnley Burnley recalled Nahki Wells from his loan spell at QPR to sell the striker to Bristol City, with highly rated Josh Brownhill joining Sean Dyche's side in a clever move for the club, who've also managed to rid of Danny Drinkwater's wages.
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Transfer window power rankings 13. Watford The need for panic at Watford has been significantly subdued by Nigel Pearson's impressive return. Winger Igancio Pussetto has arrived for £7.2m from sister club Udinese, while prodigious Brazilian striker Joao Pedro has finally joined up with the Hornets too.
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Transfer window power rankings 12. Manchester City Tumbleweeds. As was explicitly planned, Manchester City will wait until the summer to regenerate their squad. Mission complete.
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Transfer window power rankings 11. Leicester A window where the sole aim was for Brendan Rodgers' side to hold onto their key players and Leicester did just that, with both Ben Chilwell and Caglar Soyuncu staying until at least the summer. They're also set to finally end their search for another centre-half, with Ryan Bennett joining from Wolves.
Transfer window power rankings 10. Arsenal It was no secret that Arsenal had very little money to operate with in this window and the astute loan signings of Pablo Mari and Cedric Soares, while unspectacular, will certainly provide some much-needed reinforcement for Mikel Arteta's side.
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Transfer window power rankings 9. Tottenham The Christian Eriksen saga cast a cloud over Spurs' January, however, Daniel Levy will be pleased to have secured a £17m fee from Inter Milan, while also shipping out Danny Rose on loan. The £25m arrival of Dutch international Steven Bergwijn has provided excitement, as has Benfica midfielder Gedson Fernandes. The search for a striker though has, so far, left Jose Mourinho criminally short of firepower up front.
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Transfer window power rankings 8. Aston Villa Villa acted quickly to replace Jonathan Kodija with Mbwana Samatta, while Pepe Reina's unlikely arrival from AC Milan could be a huge boost to the dressing room. Danny Drinkwater's arrival is, however, already leaving little to be desired.
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Transfer window power rankings 7. Wolves Uncle Jorge Mendes has worked small wonders again with the arrivals of Daniel Podence and Leonardo Campana, while Patrick Cutrone has been shipped back to Italy.
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Transfer window power rankings 6. Brighton Aaron Mooy proved to be one of the most valuable signings of the summer and Brighton have made the 30-year-old's move permanent. Highly rated Chelsea youngster Tariq Lamptey is also set to join in a coup for Graham Potter's side.
Transfer window power rankings 5. Newcastle It's been another typically frantic transfer window for Newcastle, despite speculation around the club's potential takeover. Valentino Lazaro has arrived from Inter, Nabil Bentaleb brings plenty of promise despite past discipline issues, while Danny Rose is a perfect replacement after Jetro Willems' season-ending injury.
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Transfer window power rankings 4. Manchester United It took over six months, but Bruno Fernandes is finally a United player. And, despite all the furore, United will end the month with the player they always wanted. They also managed to recruit a back-up striker by capturing Odion Ighalo on loan.
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Transfer window power rankings 3. Liverpool Jurgen Klopp's side continued their impressive recruitment strategy by activating RB Salzburg's Takumi Minamino's £7.25m release clause before the window had even officially opened. Now, amid all the other clubs pandemonium, they remain sitting happily 19 points clear of their closest challengers.
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Transfer window power rankings 2. West Ham A window of typical panic could, somehow, still end impressively for West Ham. Jarrod Bowen is on his way to London for a medical, while Tomas Soucek and Darren Randolph are both valuable recruits for David Moyes's struggling side.
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Transfer window power rankings 1. Sheffield United The Blades have broken their transfer record to bring in coveted Norwegian international Sander Berge from Genk, while Panagiotis Retsos and Richairo Zivkovic are also set to join. Chris Wilder's side have surpassed all expectations this season, and now they're being rewarded with firm investment.
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“I am happy to work hard with the team, and to finish very well this season.”
Ighalo turned down the overtures of another Premier League club to join United, where he will help address a short-term injury issue for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.
He scored 16 times in 55 Premier League appearances for Watford before moving to Changchun Yatai in January 2017, and then Shanghai Shenhua two years later.
“Odion is an experienced player. He will come in and give us an option of a different type of centre-forward for the short spell he’s staying with us,” Solskjaer said. “A great lad and very professional, he will make the most of his time here.”
United are not believed to have the option to make the loan deal permanent for a player whose attempt to leave China earlier in the week was reportedly thwarted by the knock-on effect of the coronavirus outbreak.
Solskjaer had hoped to have Erling Haaland at his disposal moving forwards, but Borussia Dortmund managed to beat them to the highly-rated Red Bull Salzburg striker.
There was interest in Bournemouth’s Josh King as they weighed up options as the deadline approached, but United are understood to have preferred a loan and baulked at the asking price for a permanent deal.
Instead, Ighalo will be the man tasked with helping United end the campaign with a trophy and Champions League qualification.
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