Cesena
Odion Ighalo played for which team from 2010 to 2011?
Odion Ighalo Odion Jude Ighalo ( born 16 June 1989 ) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Saudi club Al Shabab . After starting his career at Nigerian clubs Prime and Julius Berger , Ighalo moved to Norwegian club Lyn in 2007 . A year later , he was signed by Italian club Udinese , spending most of his tenure on two separate loan spells with Spanish club Granada . In 2014 , he signed for Championship club Watford and was integral in the clubs promotion to the Premier League in the 2014–15 season . In January 2017 , Ighalo joined Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai for a reported £20 million , before moving onto Shanghai Greenland Shenhua . In January 2020 , Ighalo returned to the Premier League , joining Manchester United on loan , initially until the end of the 2019–20 season ; the loan was then extended until January 2021 . Ighalo made his debut for the Nigeria national team in March 2015 against Uganda . He represented the nation at the 2018 World Cup and was the highest goalscorer in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign . He eventually led Nigeria to a third place finish at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations , where he finished in the competitions Team of the Tournament and was crowned top scorer . Club career . Early career . Born in Lagos and raised in Edo , Ighalo played in his country with Prime and Julius Berger , where he was discovered by FIFA agent Marcelo Houseman who recommended him to Atta Aneke , being subsequently taken on trial by Norways Lyn . He made his Tippeligaen debut on 16 September 2007 at the age of just 18 , scoring in a 2–0 home win against Viking . He scored six goals in 13 matches in his second year to help his team to the seventh position , and subsequently arose interest from other clubs in the country , with Brann reporting Lyn to the Norwegian Football Federation for unfairness in the negotiation process . Udinese and Granada . On 30 July 2008 , Ighalo signed for Udinese in Italy , moving alongside teammate Jo Inge Berget and agreeing to a five-year contract . He appeared rarely in Serie A in his debut season , scoring against Cagliari in a 6–2 home routing . Four of his five league appearances came as a late substitute . Ighalo was loaned to Granada in summer 2009 , as part of the partnership agreement between Udinese and the Spaniards . He scored 17 times in his first year ( playoffs included ) and five in the second , as both seasons ended in promotion ; this was interspersed with a brief loan stint back in Italy , with Cesena . Ighalo continued playing with Granada in the following years , still owned by the Udine club . He played his first La Liga match on 27 August 2011 , starting and playing the full 90 minutes in a 0–1 home loss to Real Betis . Watford . Ighalo joined Watford on a season-long loan deal from Udinese , on 29 July 2014 . He made his debut for the English club in the first round of the League Cup away to Stevenage on 12 August , and scored his first goal in the Championship against Brentford on 30 September by tucking the ball home after his initial penalty was saved by David Button , in a 2–1 home win . On 24 October 2014 , Watford terminated Ighalos loan and re-signed him on a permanent deal the same day after Udinese released him from his contract . Exactly three months later , he scored four-second-half goals and was voted Man of the match in a 7–2 home routing of Blackpool , who led 0–2 at half time ; he took his league tally to 14 on 10 February 2015 , after netting a brace to help his team come from behind at Brentford to win it 2–1 – his second came through an injury time header . Ighalo scored in his Premier League debut on 8 August 2015 , replacing José Manuel Jurado 16 minutes from time and putting the visitors ahead 2–1 in an eventual 2–2 draw away against Everton for the season opener . He netted twice in a 2–0 home win over West Ham United on 31 October , reaching seven goals for the season and becoming the highest club scorer in the competition after just 11 matches . On 20 December 2015 , Ighalo scored in a Watford victory for the fourth consecutive time , netting a brace in a 3–0 win over Liverpool . His five-goal haul earned him Decembers Premier League Player of the Month , while his manager Quique Sánchez Flores won the equivalent award . Ighalo broke a 599-minute personal scoring drought on 13 March 2016 , with a goal in a 2–1 win at holders Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup , putting the Hornets into the last four for the first time in nine years . On 12 August he signed a new five-year contract but , the following season , he scored just one league goal and did not find the net in any of his last 15 games . Changchun Yatai . On 31 January 2017 , Ighalo joined Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai for a reported £20 million . He ranked second in the scoring charts in his second season at 21 , but his team suffered relegation . Shanghai Greenland Shenhua . Ighalo transferred to Shanghai Greenland Shenhua on 14 February 2019 . In March , he said he turned down a move to Barcelona the previous month . In March 2020 , he was offered a contract extension worth over £400,000 a week by Shenhua . Loan to Manchester United . On 31 January 2020 , Ighalo returned to the Premier League , joining Manchester United on loan until the end of the season . In doing so , he became the first Nigerian player , and only the seventh African , to join the club . After the move was confirmed , Ighalo revealed that he had taken a pay cut to make the move happen , calling it a dream to join the club he has long supported . He opted to wear the number 25 shirt , previously worn by Manchester Uniteds first and longest-serving African player , Quinton Fortune of South Africa . His presence within the first team was initially blocked as a precautionary measure due to ongoing fears over the COVID-19 outbreak in China . After three substitute appearances , Ighalo made his full debut for United in their Europa League round of 32 second leg match against Club Brugge on 27 February 2020 . He scored his first United goal , which was also his maiden goal in a European competition , as the hosts won 5–0 . A week later , he scored his first brace for the club as United beat Derby County 3–0 in the FA Cup . On Manchester Uniteds final game before the suspension of football due to the COVID-19 pandemic , Ighalo scored a half-volley after juggling the ball in a 5–0 win over LASK ; it was voted Manchester Uniteds goal of the month for March . With football suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Ighalos loan set to expire at the end of May 2020 , on 1 June Manchester United announced that they had agreed to extend Ighalos loan deal until 30 January 2021 . On 26 January 2021 , Ighalo posted a farewell message on social media , ahead of his imminent departure from Manchester United at the end of the month . Manchester United confirmed Ighalos departure the following day . Al Shabab . On 4 February 2021 , Ighalo joined Saudi Professional League club Al Shabab on a two-and-a-half-year contract . International career . On 24 March 2015 , after a series of strong performances for Watford , newly appointed Nigeria interim coach Daniel Amokachi selected Ighalo for the first time , and the latter stated , I feel good because it is my dream to play for my country . He won his first cap two days later , starting in a 0–1 friendly home loss to Uganda . Ighalo was initially named as one of three overage players in Nigerias squad for the 2016 Olympic tournament , but he eventually did not make the trip to Brazil . In June 2018 , he was named in the 23-man squad for the upcoming edition of the FIFA World Cup in Russia , making his first appearance in the competition by playing 73 minutes in the 0–2 group stage defeat against Croatia ; in October , he revealed that his family had received death threats after he failed to score in the tournament . Ighalo scored seven goals in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification campaign , the most by any player , to help Nigeria qualify for the finals in Egypt later that year . He was included in Gernot Rohrs squad , taking part in all the matches and finding the net against Burundi in the group phase ( 1–0 ) , Cameroon in the round of 16 ( 3–2 win ) , Algeria in the semi-finals ( 1–2 loss ) and Tunisia in the third-place playoff ( 1–0 ) ; at the end of the competition , he announced his retirement from the international scene . Personal life . Ighalo is a devout Christian , who also often dedicates part of his wages for Nigerian charitable organisations to help impoverished children , schools and widows below the poverty line . He is a lifelong Manchester United supporter . Ighalo has three children , two sons and one daughter . Career statistics . International . Source : Honours . Watford - Football League Championship runner-up : 2014–15 Shanghai Shenhua - Chinese FA Cup : 2019 Nigeria - Africa Cup of Nations third place : 2019 Individual - Premier League Player of the Month : December 2015 - Africa Cup of Nations Team of the Tournament : 2019 - Africa Cup of Nations Golden Boot : 2019 External links . - Lyn official profile