New Manchester United attacker, Odion Ighalo, has revealed why he chose the shirt No.25 at the club.
The former Super Eagles striker joined the Red Devils on a temporary basis from the Chinese side Shanghai Greenland Shenhua.
He is expected to boost the squad for the rest of the 2019/20 season.
Ighalo revealed his thinking when presented with a list of squad numbers that were available for selection to Manchester United’s official website.
“Well, I think that number and number 19 were available,” says 30-year-old Odion.
“When I was at Watford I wore the number 24 and it was not available.
“In Shanghai, I had number nine and that was not available. So I said to myself that 24 plus one is 25, so I said ‘okay let me go with the number 25 instead of 19’.
The Nigerian said he followed the footsteps of United’s first-ever African player, Quinton Fortune, who wore the number 25 shirt during his six seasons at Old Trafford.
“Yeah, because I watched Quinton Fortune play for Man United, he was a great player and I know he put on the number 25, so I said to myself that number 25 is good,” Odion explains.
“Even though I didn’t get the number that I was looking for, 25 is a perfect number because it is one above the number that I wore when I was in the Premier League.”
Ighalo will be hoping to play his first match for Manchester United when they file out against Chelsea in their next Premier League game.