Full name Odion Jude Ighalo 2000–2005 Prime Height 1.88 m Place of birth Lagos, Nigeria Name Odion Ighalo Weight 73 kg | Playing position Role Footballer Career start 2007 Number 24 Nationality Nigerian | |
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Date of birth (1989-06-16) 16 June 1989 (age 26) Current teams Watford F.C. (#24 / Forward), Nigeria national football team (Forward) Similar People Jamie Vardy, Troy Deeney, Riyad Mahrez, Romelu Lukaku, Moses Simon Profiles | ||
Odion ighalo amazing goals skills assists watford 2015 16
Odion Jude Ighalo (born 16 June 1989) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Chinese club Changchun Yatai F.C. and the Nigeria national team.
Contents
- Odion ighalo amazing goals skills assists watford 2015 16
- Odion Ighalo moves into his billion naira mansion in Lagos
- Early years Lyn
- Udinese Granada
- Watford
- Changchun Yatai
- International career
- International goals
- Personal life
- Club statistics
- References
After starting his career at Prime and Julius Berger, he moved to Norway's Lyn in 2007. A year later he was signed by Udinese, spending most of his tenure loaned out, notably at Granada, before signing for Watford in 2014.
Odion Ighalo moves into his billion naira mansion in Lagos
Early years / Lyn
Born in Lagos and raised in Edo, Ighalo played in his country with Prime F.C. and Julius Berger FC, where he was discovered by FIFA agent Marcelo Houseman who recommended him to Atta Aneke, being subsequently taken on trial by Norway's Lyn Fotball.
He made his Tippeligaen debut on 16 September 2007 at the age of just 18, scoring in a 2–0 home win against Viking FK. 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 SK Brann reporting Lyn to the Football Association of Norway for unfairness in the negotiation process.
Udinese / Granada
On 30 July 2008, Ighalo signed for Udinese Calcio 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 Calcio in a 6–2 home routing – four of his five league appearances came as a late substitute.
Ighalo was loaned to Granada CF in the 2009 summer, 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 A.C. Cesena.
Ighalo continued playing with Granada in the following years, still owned by the Udine side. 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 Football League Cup at Stevenage on 12 August, and scored his first goal against Brentford on 30 September by tucking the ball home after his initial penalty was saved by David Button.
On 24 October 2014, Watford terminated Ighalo's 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 December's 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 matches.
Changchun Yatai
On 31 January 2017, Ighalo joined Chinese Super League club Changchun Yatai F.C. for a reported £20 million.
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 gained his first cap two days later, starting in a 0–1 friendly home loss to Uganda.
Ighalo was one of three overage players named in Nigeria's squad for the 2016 Olympic tournament in Brazil.
International goals
As of 1 September 2017 (Nigeria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ighalo goal)Personal life
Ighalo is known to be 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.