ODION: MY BIG MOVIE

Ighalo: I banged on the director’s door in China pleading: United have come in for me..you must make it happen

ODION IGHALO has revealed he was sleepless in Shanghai as he frantically thrashed out his dream move to Manchester United.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s desperate search for a striker was finally completed when United secured an 11th-hour, deadlineday deal with Shanghai Shenhua to sign Ighalo on loan until the summer.

And the former Watford hitman, 30, admitted that, once he heard United had come calling, he was determined to ensure his switch to Old Trafford went through.

“It was very dramatic,” said the Nigerian. “My agent called me the day before and said Man United and a few other clubs had shown interest, but I said, ‘Please, just pick United, if it’s going to be possible’.

“At 11pm in Shanghai, my agent called me to say that United wanted to do the deal, so I woke up that night and started looking for a translator to go to the director’s room and hit his door... ‘My agent wants to speak to you, United are coming for me, you have to make this happen’.

“The clubs started talking. I didn’t sleep throughout that night because it was going to end at 7am, Shanghai time, and the transfer window was going to close there.

“So, from 11pm, there was paperwork, negotiating for the loan deal. Other teams were calling them, wanting me, but I told my agent, ‘This is what I want, I want to come here’.

“He said, ‘You’re going to take a pay-cut to go to United’. I said, ‘I don’t care. Make this deal happen. I want to go to United. I don’t care how much the pay-cut is, make it happen’.

“My agent started putting it in order, and, at 5am, we finished. Around 5am-6am, he said, ‘Everything is OK, it’s done’. I was excited. I called my mum and she was happy, crying.”

Growing up in the Nigerian city Lagos, Ighalo was a childhood United fan and he revealed how he would watch matches with as many as 50 people crammed into one room, dreaming of following in the footsteps of club legends Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke (below). And the opportunity to be the first Nigerian player to pull on the famous red jersey United clearly means everything to him.

“I’m really proud,” he added. “When we were young in Nigeria, we used to watch the Premier League on TV a lot, when stars like Andy Cole used to play.

“People support Man United a lot in Nigeria, so I developed that love because all my siblings are Man United fans.

“I never thought this was going to happen, but dreams do come true, so I’m very happy to be here and this is going to be a big and good challenge for me.

“Even on the street where I grew up, they are having parties, celebrating Ighalo signing for United.

“They sent me a video and I was laughing as many of them support United and some support other teams in the Premier League.

“But they said that, because of me, they are moving to United. I am happy about this and they’re rooting for United from now on.”

‘People support United a lot in Nigeria’