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ODION IGHALO may have played his last game for Manchester United after talks with Shanghai Shenhua about the extension of his loan contract hit a wall.
Under his current contract, the 30-year-old Nigerian forward will return to his home club in China on May 31.
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But Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to stay with him until the end of the Premier League season after an excellent start to life at Old Trafford after his arrival in January.
However, talks about extending the Ighalo loan for a couple of months have run into a wall, and United fears they may have to get by without it.
Ighalo has scored four times in eight games, including two goals in the FA Cup 3-0 victory over Derby, in all competitions since his move to England in January.
With the future of the 2019-20 season still somewhat in the air and the world-wide soccer finances hit by the coronavirus, United is not yet seeking a permanent deal for Ighalo.
Under the Standard, they hope to get a loan extension for a couple of months to complete the last nine league games of the season.
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But Shanghai Shenhua made it clear it’s a permanent deal or nothing, demanding £ 20 million for Ighalo, who trained on Tuesday with a mysterious partner in a Cheshire park.
The former Watford striker’s loan agreement, as it stands, does not include a call option at the end of the period.
Solskjaer has made it clear that he hopes to sign a center forward this summer, with Timo Werner and Moussa Dembele linked.
And those two, making waves in Europe this season, are likely to have a lower salary than Ighalo, who makes £ 300,000 a week in China.
The Premier League hopes to restart next month with Man Utd pushing for the Champions League standings.
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United currently ranks fifth, good enough for a spot on next season’s top European soccer table thanks to Manchester City rivals’ two-year ban for violating Financial Fair Play regulations.
But with players fearful of a return to action too soon, PL bosses will stage a decisive meeting on Wednesday to try to convince them that it’s safe.
Raheem Sterling, Tyrone Ming, Danny Rose and Sergio Agüero have publicly voiced fears about the return of football, while the daily death toll from coronavirus is still three figures.
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