The Latest On Odion Ighalo's Potential Move To China

Watford could be ready to cash in on misfiring striker Odion Ighalo.

Shanghai Shenhua, managed by former Sunderland and Brighton boss Gus Poyet, are interested in linking Ighalo with Carlos Tevez, the world’s highest-paid footballer, in a new dream team up front.

And after his Nigerian international team-mate John Obi Mikel sealed a move to Tianjin TEDA last week, Ighalo may follow him to the Far East.

Although the Hornets turned down a £35million deadline day bid from Manchester United – the club Ighalo supported as a boy – 12 months ago, and the player himself rejected a £37.5m move to Shanghai SIPD last summer, the sands may be shifting.

And if Watford manager Walter Mazzarri can line up a replacement before the end of the month, Ighalo could join Chelsea’s £52m Brazilian export Oscar and former Manchester City title winner Tevez, who is reportedly being paid £615,000-a-week, on the Chinese Super League gravy train.

And the Beijing government has intervened to state they would regulate transfer fees and wages after Chinese clubs broke the Asian transfer record four times last year.

Ighalo was English football’s leading scorer in 2015 with 30 goals, but in the last calendar year his output slumped to just six in all competitions - and his strike rate in the Premier League has nosedived to just two in his last 31 appearances.

There is a growing sense at Vicarage Road that a fresh start would suit all parties, especially if Shanghai can offer him monster wages of £200,000-a-week.