How Inter Milan lost out in last-minute bid for Ighalo

Fresh fact has emerged on how Inter Milan of Italy lost out in their bid for Nigerian striker, Odion Ighalo before a late swoop by Manchester United.

Inter, it was revealed, were unwilling to go through with the bid for now-Manchester United striker,  due to his salary demands.

United found a temporary stop-gap to their crisis up front by adding Shanghai Greenland Shenhua hitman Ighalo to the ranks on a loan deal until the end of the season.

The deal was announced hours after the transfer window closed last Friday, with United frantically trying to get the deal over the line to avoid being without cover for Marcus Rashford.

Indeed, Ighalo himself has revealed how negotiations leading to the move were “very dramatic”, while confirming that a few other clubs were interested in his signature.

According to Calciomercato, one such club was Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan.

Inter added the likes of Christian Eriksen, Victor Moses and Ashley Young to their squad last month but the Italian source claims that Conte was also keen on Ighalo.

It is said that Conte “probed” the possibility of bringing the Nigerian to San Siro, using his solid relations with the player’s agent as a starting point.

However, Ighalo’s high salary expectations meant Inter pulled out of the deal, allowing United to swoop in and seal the signing.

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Ighalo was announced just after midnight last Saturday and was therefore absent for United’s 0-0 Premier League draw with Wolves.