Ighalo the right man for Man United – McClaren
Former Super
Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo, has been described by Steve McClaren as the
perfect striker for Manchester United, as the former Old Trafford legend tipped
the Nigeria international to be handed a starting role in the Manchester derby
on Sunday.
Ighalo, who
started his second game for the Red Devils since joining on loan from Shanghai
Shenhua on January deadline day, had an impressive performance on Thursday in
the Red shirt as he scored a brace in their 3-0 win at Derby County in the FA
Cup fifth round tie.
Reacting to
the display of the 30-year-old, the former England head coach, who was part of
the United coaching staff when they won the treble in 1999, was confident that
United had found the right number nine in Ighalo and said he would not be
surprised if the former Watford striker got to start in the derby against their
local rival on Sunday.
“Everybody
needs a number nine. Everybody needs a target,” McClaren said on Sky Sports.
“There can be
runners but there has to be a vocal point, Manchester United didn’t have that.
“Romelu Lukaku
went, they’ve tried different things, false nine, it doesn’t work out, but I
think with Ighalo it’s perfect because there’s lots of energy around him at the
present moment and wouldn’t be surprised to see him play on Sunday.”
Ighalo has now
scored three goals in six appearances in all competitions for United.
…as Nigerian
makes FA Cup Team
Odion Ighalo
was included in the Emirates FA Cup Team of the Fifth Round.
The Team of
the Round was compiled by football facts and statistics website, whoscored.com.
Ighalo’s
inclusion was as a result of his superb performance for United in their 3-0 win
at Derby County on Thursday.
The
30-year-old bagged a brace in his second start since joining United on loan.
He has now
scored three goals in six appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils.
Norwich have
the highest number of players in the team of the fifth round following their
victory over Tottenham Hotspurs. Goalkeeper, Tim Krul, defenders, Ben Godfrey and
Jamal Lewis are the players selected from the team.
Ighalo was
joined by teammate, Juan Mata, as Newcastle United also have two players
selected.
Other players
are Ross Barkley of Chelsea, West Brom’s Kyle Edwards and Sheffield United’s
Micheal Morrisson.
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