Ighalo joins Mikel in China

Odion Ighalo

Super Eagles striker, Odion Ighalo, missed Watford’s match against Arsenal on Tuesday night to seal a January transfer deadline deal to Chinese Super League side Changchun Yatai for £20m.

He becomes the latest English Premier League player to join the Chinese league following national team skipper, Mikel Obi, who moved from Chelsea to Tianjin TEDA earlier in the month.

Ighalo, 27, joined the Hornets in 2014 from Italian side Udinese and helped Watford win promotion to the Premier League in the 2014-15 campaign.

He scored 15 top-flight goals in 2015-16, but has only one Premier League goal this season and has gone 15 games without scoring in all competitions.

Watford’s 2-1 away win on Tuesday moves them to 13th in the Premier League, 11 points above the relegation zone.

During his time with the Hornets, Ighalo played 100 times in all competitions and scored 39 goals.

In the calendar year of 2015, he scored 30 goals in 38 games. He has netted six times since.