Home UEFA Champions League Manchester United £35 million Ighalo bid rejected

Manchester United £35 million Ighalo bid rejected

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Louis Van Gaal tried to land Hornets striker in January

Watford rejected a £35 million bid from Manchester United for striker Odion Ighalo in January, as Louis Van Gaal anxiously attempted to bolster his attacking options.

The Red Devils suffered their lowest ever Premier League goal tally last season, as they missed out on Champions League football on goal difference to local rivals Manchester City.

However, while Van Gaal had signed Anthony Martial from AS Monaco last summer, for an initial fee of £36 million, potentially rising to £58 million, the Dutchman was desperate to add more goals to his lacklustre squad.

But the Hornets rejected £35 million for the Nigeria international, who signed for the Hertfordshire outfit that summer on a free transfer from Udinese, after having helped the club to promotion from the Championship on a season-long loan the previous campaign.

Ighalo netted 17 goals in 42 appearances last season, while Martial managed 11 league goals for United.

Van Gaal was forced to see out the rest of the season with a lack of forward options, until the shock emergence of academy graduate Marcus Rashford, who netted four times in his first two appearances in February, and was subsequently called up to England’s European Championship squad.

But, ultimately, the lack of goals in the United squad stopped them from gaining enough points to secure Champions League football, and resulted in Van Gaal getting the sack.

And Watford, again, have had to reject another bid for Ighalo this summer, with a £37.5 million offer from Shanghai SIPG.

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