Odion Ighalo reveals his Manchester United heroes were Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole

Odion Ighalo has expressed his desire to make his Manchester United move permanent
AP
Matt Davies6 April 2020

Odion Ighalo has named Manchester United's legendary strike duo Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole as his footballing heroes, also stating he is inspired by the club’s set up, particularly their youth development.

The 30-year-old joined United on loan from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua in January and immediately hit the ground running, scoring four goals in eight appearances prior to football in England being suspended indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Ighalo – who has supported United since a young age – initially signed on a six-month deal but has openly talked of his desire to remain at Old Trafford.

In an interview for the club’s website, Ighalo revealed he feels privileged to play for the club, highlighting Yorke and Cole as players he would imitate growing up.

“I had a lot of football heroes,” Ighalo said. “When I started supporting Man United, Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole were my heroes growing up - and some Nigerian players as well like Jay-Jay Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu.

(Manchester United via Getty Imag)
Manchester United via Getty Images

“They are great players, they were my heroes growing up and I watched them on TV.

“It is a great privilege for me to play at Man United, where great players like Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole have played.”

Asked what the most inspiring thing about Manchester United is, Ighalo revealed his admiration for the club’s youth set-up.

A number of United’s younger players have enjoyed successful campaigns, including the likes of former academy players Scott McTominay, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenword and Brandon Williams with Ighalo clearly impressed by the club’s structure.

“Seeing the club from the outside you don't know how big it is,” he said. “But when you are inside you know how big the club is.

“I am inspired by the way the club is structured, I am inspired by the direction of the club, I am inspired by the development of the young players and how they are coming through from the grassroots to the first team.

“I am inspired by a lot of things at United. I am really inspired and I am looking forward to spending more time with the team.”

United - who sit fifth in the Premier League table, just three points off Chelsea in fourth - were in fine form prior to the league’s suspension, undefeated in 11 games in all competitions.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in