Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has revealed Odion Ighalo is staying behind after Manchester United training in a bid to get fitter and make the best impact possible at the club.
The striker's arrival in the January transfer window raised eyebrows as he was not a name linked with the club previously. He is also not a player with the calibre many fans associate with Manchester United.
Nonetheless, with United missing out on Haaland and Marcus Rashford sustaining a long-term back injury, Ighalo arrived on loan to help bolster the Reds' attack.
The Nigerian joined from Shanghai Shenhua after four seasons in the Chinese Super League. But because it was the club's off season Ighalo did not arrive fully fit.
The 30-year-old was then forced to train on his own amid coronavirus fears.
On Sunday, though, he linked up with his new team-mates at United's training base and came off the bench against Chelsea the next day.
Asked if he would start against Club Brugges in United's Europa League last-32 fixture, Solskjaer said: “I'm not going to tell the team today, but we're going to have to rotate with all the games coming up and he's one that could start, although we've not made a decision yet.
“For me, Odion is a different type of striker for us. He's a box striker, a goalscorer, we've seen him training, he knows his craft and how to train as a centre-forward.
“He's a fantastic professional and human being and has already added to the squad. The boys have taken to him. I hope he's going to sharpen up quickly.
“He's been out of season, he needs to do a little bit extra after training and we try to give him as much game time as possible. He had a good chance at Chelsea, but I'm sure he'll take his chances.”
