IGHALO REVEALS WHY THE CHINESE LEAGUE IS TOUGH
Nigeria and Yatai Changchun striker Odion Ighalo says the Chinese Super League is not an easy league to play in.
The Super Eagles star revealed the league has proved to be tougher and more competitive than he expected following his move from English Premier League side Watford.
Ighalo completed his switch to the CSL last year in a £20 million deal and said he saw a different ball game upon his arrival.
“Before I went there, people were saying the level of the Chinese League is very low and you are going to score a lot of goals,” he is quoted by the BBC.
“When I got there I saw a different football game. There are a lot of foreign coaches and foreign players improving the league and the league is getting tougher and stronger.”
The 28-year-old Ighalo has kept up his good goal-scoring record in China where he netted 15 goals in 27 matches last season, and has scored one goal in three games so far this season.
“Football in China is still growing. I have played a season and this is my second season. I am enjoying the life there and the football,” he added.
“When I went there I was expecting a lower class of the league but when I arrived I saw how tough it is and said this is not what I had heard about.”
Fresh from the recent international FIFA break where Nigeria beat Poland and lost to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ighalo will now look ahead to their clash against Guangzhou R&F on Sunday in the league.
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