Odion Ighalo is set to leave Manchester United at the end of the week following the expiration of his loan deal at Old Trafford.

Manchester fans have made it clear that they want the club to sign another striker permanently this summer, be it Odion Ighalo or somebody else.

United came in for heavy criticism when they signed Ighalo on deadline day in January after Erling Haaland moved to Borussia and got the ground running in the Bundesliga.

Yet the Nigerian soon silenced his doubters as he made a great start to life as his boyhood club, scoring four goals in just three starts and proving himself to be a useful option off the bench in Premier League matches.

Ighalo has established himself as a cult hero among the Old Trafford faithful though, sadly his time at the club may have ready reached its end.

The 30-year-old’s loan deal expires on May 31st and as United’s season is set to stretch far beyond that due to the current suspension its looking like they will have to complete their remaining games without him.

Ighalo will likely return to parent club Shanghai Shenhua at the end of the week as they are keen for the striker to return for the start of the Chinese Super League, likely to be in late June or early July.

It’s understood that United are keen to keep Ighalo for the rest of the campaign and have held talks with Shanghai, but as things stand, he has played his last game for United. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on Tuesday that United are still hopeful a deal can be reached.

The prospect of losing Ighalo hasn’t gone down well among many supporters and some would like to see him signed permanently in the summer trabsfer window, whenever that might open.