Odion Ighalo is poised to lead Man United’s Champions League charge

Odion Ighalo is likely to make his Manchester United debut when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side pick up after the winter break against Chelsea on Monday night.

Odion Ighalo is poised to lead Man United's Champions League charge after his shock loan move… and fans will be hoping he's a late-season wonder like Larsson, Weah, Klinsmann and Keane
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The Nigerian striker was signed on loan from Chinese Super League club Shanghai Shenhua during last month’s transfer window with United short on forward options following Marcus Rashford’s back injury.

Solskjaer will hope Ighalo, who previously played in the Premier League with Watford, will contribute a few important goals as United compete on three fronts between now and the end of the season.

But it’s far from the first time a top-flight club has brought in someone on loan in their time of need and United will be hoping Ighalo makes a similar impact to these players.

Henrik Larsson (Manchester United, 2007)

United have been in a similar situation before. In the winter of 2006-07, as they chased silverware in the Premier League and the Champions League, Sir Alex Ferguson was struggling with a thin strike force.

The only fit players at the time were Wayne Rooney, Louis Saha and Solskjaer, by then in the injury-plagued twilight of his career and restricted to cameos from the bench. Alan Smith was struggling for fitness.

It came after Ferguson sold Ruud van Nistelrooy to Real Madrid the previous summer, echoing Solskjaer’s decision to let Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez go to Inter Milan last summer.
Ferguson’s inspired solution was to take Swedish legend Larsson, who was 35 at the time, on loan from Helsingborgs ahead of the start of the Allsvenskan’s off-season.

Larsson only scored three times in 13 matches – on his debut against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, against Watford in the league and Lille in the Champions League – but made a deep impression.

The United fans loved him and the club tried to extend his loan until the end of the season, with Ferguson saying: ‘He’s been fantastic for us; his professionalism, his attitude, everything he’s done has been excellent.’

United went on to win the Premier League but Larsson didn’t play in enough matches to be awarded a medal.

George Weah (Chelsea, 2000)

Weah was 33 when Gianluca Vialli signed him on loan from AC Milan in January 2000, with Chelsea hoping for a strong finish in the league and midway through the second group stage of the Champions League.

But the Liberian legend made a positive impression during his few months at Stamford Bridge, especially after scoring the winner against London rivals Tottenham on his debut with a header.

It was all the more remarkable given Weah had only arrived from Italy a few hours before the game and he came off the bench to score three minutes from time.
He went on to score four more goals for Chelsea, against Liverpool and Wimbledon in the league, plus Leicester and Gillingham in the FA Cup as Chelsea lifted the trophy.

However, despite a lot of affection from Chelsea fans, Vialli decided against making Weah’s loan move permanent and he joined Manchester City shortly afterwards.

Jurgen Klinsmann (Tottenham Hotspur, 1998)

We already know about Klinsmann’s first spell at Tottenham and the 29 goals he scored in all competitions during the 1994-95 campaign.

But his return to White Hart Lane in Spurs’ hour of need during the 1997-98 season was equally remarkable.

Spurs had replaced Gerry Francis with Christian Gross during an abysmal start to the season and sat in the relegation zone when Klinsmann returned on loan from Sampdoria.

Christophe Dugarry (Birmingham City, 2003)

Birmingham City were 15th and in serious relegation danger when they took French World Cup winner Dugarry on loan from Bordeaux in January 2003.

‘We’re delighted that he’s chosen us,’ said Birmingham boss Steve Bruce at the time. ‘To have someone of his credentials is a massive, massive thing for us. It’s the biggest signing this club has ever made.’

The club had slipped to 17th when Dugarry scored four goals in three matches to earn late-season wins against Charlton, Southampton and Middlesbrough to keep their heads above water.

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Birmingham ultimately finished six points above the bottom three and Dugarry made his move permanent, playing a further 14 times during the 2003-04 season.