In a white breezeblock corridor of the Jan Breydelstadion, as copper pipes gurgle overhead and plastic grass rustles under feet, Odion Ighalo stands noticeably upright. Back straight, shoulders broad, pride evident.



“I am feeling much better, game by game, I am getting closer to full fitness,” he tells The Athletic, speaking slowly, purposefully. “I am happy to be here, and I want the goals to start coming very soon.”



Against Club Brugge, Ighalo got another 23 minutes to add to the five in stoppage time at Stamford Bridge on Monday, and the incredulity that met United’s deadline-day business is beginning to morph into an appreciation that, with Marcus Rashford injured, this 30-year-old from Nigeria could offer a necessary foil to Anthony Martial.



Twice in two games Ighalo has replaced Martial, offering vital preservation to United’s No 9 while giving an indication that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now has a different kind of...