Controversial soccer pundit and former Arsenal star player, Paul Merson, has expressed doubts whether Odion Ighalo has the ability to perform well at Old Trafford. He fears that the head coach, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, could be axed by Manchester United, if the Nigerian international fails to shine.

Recall that Merson was an England footballer/manager at a time.

He also said that with the pressure on the two Red Devils bosses after a horrible campaign, the Executive Vice-Chairman of the club, Ed Woodward, could also be fired.

Merson wrote the following in his column for the Daily Star:

Odion Ighalo could be the final straw at Manchester United.

If that signing is a disaster then Ed Woodward and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer are in big trouble.

Don’t get me wrong. He could rediscover the form he once he had at Watford and be a huge success. But he could be the biggest laughing stock the Premier League has ever seen.

Only time will tell. But remember, the last time he was here he only scored once in 18 games before Watford sold him and he’ll have gotten lazy playing in China.

He added:

I’ve heard people compare it with Henrik Larsson because nobody expected him to still be any good when United signed him either.

But Larsson had been world-class. He had scored goals in major tournaments and won big trophies. And he still had his finishing and his movement.

Ighalo doesn’t have any of that on his CV and he’s coming into a struggling team. The biggest one he’s ever played for.

It’s a big ask, and if it all goes horribly wrong it will just pile more pressure on the manager because you’re always judged on your signings as well as your results.

Ighalo, who scored thirty six (36) goals in ninety (90) Premier League games for Watford before going to China, signed with Manchester United on loan from Shanghai Greenland Shenhua for the rest of the 2019/20 season.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.