Ighalo Speaks On Eagles Return, Rohr, Man Utd Move

Al Shabab striker Odion Ighalo has carefully ruled out a Super Eagles return but not in its entirely.

The Veteran striker, in a recent interview, confirmed that Eagles boss Gernot Rohr and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) want him back, but he wants to stay out of the picture.

“Me and the coach have been in contact, even Amaju and all that. They want me back. I did my best with the national team. Now is the chance to give the younger boys the chance to continue from where I stopped,” Ighalo told Elegbete TV Sports, via Pulse.ng.

Despite ruling himself out of a Super Eagles return, the 32-year-old did not entirely rule it out.

“I don't see the need for me to come back. But Nigeria is my country, you never can say never,” he said.

“If they need me badly, I can only think about and talk to my family members and decide what to do.

“But for now, I just want the young boys to carry on what they are doing. They are doing well. (Victor) Osimhen is doping well, Paul (Onuachu), Kelechi (Iheanacho) and the other strikers are doing so well.

“So I don't think they need anything to destabilise the team for now.”

The ex-Manchester United striker also spoke on Rohr, who has come under criticism over the Super Eagles' perceived lack of progress by some quarters, and stated that he believes that the Franco-German is doing well.

“If you want to judge a coach, judge him on his performance. How many years has he been in charge of the national team, what has he done,” he said.

“I think for me he's doing well. But You know Nigerians, we are not satisfied, we just want winning, winning.

“He's not a perfect guy, no human is perfect, everyone has his fault the same way he has his fault.

“The same way he has his tactical mistakes but are you going to judge him from that or what he has done?

“He's dong his best, for me I think they should give him the chance to finish his contract and see how it goes.”

In the loaded interview, Ighalo spoke on how his Manchester United move happened and how how he beat the odds to play for his childhood club.

On his first day at Manchester United, the striker said he had goosebumps walking in the training session.

He recalled that Nemanja Matić was one of the first players that spoke to him on his first day, although Bruno Fernandes, a former teammate, welcomed him with a message on Instagram.

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Ighalo spoke on how he ignored interests from West Brom and West Ham to join Saudi Arabian club Al Shabab because there was nothing to play for in the Premier League anymore.

This article was most recently revised and updated 4 years ago

Efe Bridget is a writer at GoalBall. She is a graduate of Mass Communication with 12 years of experience working with reputable publications.