Odion Ighalo Biography – Age, Profile, Country

Odion Jude Ighalo was born on 16 June, 1989. He is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Chinese club Changchun Yatai F.C. and the Nigeria national team. After starting his career at Prime and Julius Berger, he moved to Norway’s Lyn in 2007. A year later he was signed by Udinese, spending most of his tenure loaned out, notably at Granada, before signing for Watford in 2014. 

Born in Lagos and raised in Edo,[5] Ighalo played in his country with Prime F.C. and Julius Berger FC, where he was discovered by FIFA agent Marcelo Houseman who recommended him to Atta Aneke, being subsequently taken on trial by Norway’s Lyn Fotball.

He made his Tippeligaen debut on 16 September 2007 at the age of just 18, scoring in a 2–0 home win against Viking FK. He scored six goals in 13 matches in his second year to help his team to the seventh position, and subsequently arose interest from other clubs in the country, with SK Brann reporting Lyn to the Football Association of Norway for unfairness in the negotiation process.

Odion has played for various clubs including Udinese/Granada, Watford,Changchun Yatai. 

Looking into Ighalo’s international career profile, he on 24 March 2015, after a series of strong performances for Watford, newly appointed Nigeria interim coach Daniel Amokachi selected Odion for the first time, and the latter stated. He gained his first cap two days later, starting in a 0–1 friendly home loss to Uganda. Ighalo was one of three overage players named in Nigeria’s squad for the 2016 Olympic tournament in Brazil.