Watford striker Odion Ighalo should be on the shopping list of each top four club
The Premier League title race is wide open and that means that each club within striking distance of the title is searching for attacking help. That’s why I’m dumbfounded that there isn’t more transfer chatter about Watford’s Odion Ighalo.
Premier League scouts might be spending too much time overseas and not enough watching matches within their own league. Every day we’re confronted with hundreds of rumors about players from abroad coming into the league, but some of the current EPL players are ignored.
This is unquestionably the case with Ighalo. He has been absolutely scintillating for Watford this year and it doesn’t seem that any top four club has even noticed. I’m amazed his name isn’t on the lips of every Premier League fan hoping to purchase a striker.
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The 26-year-old Nigerian striker already has ten goals on the young season. If that’s not enough to catch your eye, he also boasts a sizzling Whoscored.com rating of 7.35 on the season. He’s been the most impressive player of the season for a Watford side that is surprisingly in seventh place in the League. Perhaps if the whole of England wasn’t so fixated on Jamie Vardy there would be more attention on Ighalo.
As it stands, there’s been almost zero chatter about Ighalo potentially moving to another side. Watford fans must wake up every morning in terror that they will open the newspaper and read of his impending departure. To date, there hasn’t even been a whisper of such a move. The seeming absence of any interest in Ighalo from clubs pushing for Champions League qualification has me utterly baffled.
I suppose it’s possible that there is a club pushing for Ighalo, but they’ve managed to do so without word leaking out to the press. If this is true, congratulations to that team. You have a truly special ability in the current landscape of the Premier League.
There’s also a significant possibility that Watford has made it known that they won’t be selling Ighalo at any price. I suspect they have made every effort to stop any interest in the Nigerian before it stars, but it’s not as if this actually works for any other team. How many times has Everton told anyone who will listen that they won’t sell John Stones at any price? That certainly hasn’t stopped every tabloid in England from printing stories about his impending transfer to Chelsea or Manchester United on a daily basis.
We can only assume that the lack of discussion on Ighalo is a reflection of a lack of interest from top clubs. If this is the case, one of them should wake up quickly. While other clubs are chasing stars from abroad they could steel a march on a proven Premier League goal scorer. Odion Ighalo might not be the sexiest name out there, but if your club is in need of help at striker he should be at the top of their list.