* Ajegunle boys broke twitter over Ighalo's Man-U deal,
* Over 500k tweets on the transfer window Deadline beat the Brtext night
* Manchester United fans in Nigeria took the news with mix feelings
Odion Ighalo has evolved from playing soccer on the makeshift turfs in the ghetto city of Ajegunle Lagos to becoming the first Nigerian international to make it into the Manchester United senior team set-up in about the space of fifteen years.
With Manchester United’s best striking option in Marcos Rashford injured, the Old Trafford side needed to find reinforcement and quickly. But rarely would anyone have seen the possibility of the former Nigerian International getting into the mix.
In 2018, the 30-year-old was linked with a loan move to Barcelona but the thought of playing second fiddle made the striker reject the offer according to reports.
Events, however, took a scarcely believable turn on Friday when with a few minutes left of the January transfer window, Skysports broke the news of the former Watford talisman agreeing a deal with United. Minutes after, the internet was awash with the news of what must rank as one of the most dramatic deals ever concluded on deadline day.
Within minutes, Ighalo was the top buzz on Twitter’s trend ahead of Brexit on a night the United Kingdom officially walked out of the European Union.
Ajegunle boys, where Ighalo grew up and remained a role model, an inspiration to hundreds of thousand youths in the slum, got unto the social media. They broke twitter, trending with over 500k tweets between 10pm to 12midnight on Friday January 31, 2020.
Man-U fans across Nigeria also got the news Skysports broke. While some of them where excited that Ighalo is the first Nigerian to ever sign for the most popular club in the world, others wondered if Ighalo is the best fit to replace the injured Rashford. And wondered if Ighalo will be able to deliver.
Super Eagles Head Coach, Gernot Rohr was delighted at the news and said it is good for Nigerian football. He also hope Ighalo will rescind his decision of retirement and return back to the National team.
And for me, I think Ighalo have opportunity to prove his worthy and return back to top flight football in Europe. I am excited and say to him: Congratulations!
