Shanghai Shenhua have completed the signing of former Inter Milan and Nigeria forward Obafemi Martins, who returns for a second stint after playing for the Chinese Super League side between 2016 and 2018, Goal understands.
The 35-year-old forward rejoins the team as a replacement for compatriot Odion Ighalo, whose loan deal at Manchester United has been extended until 2021.
On Wednesday, Ighalo shared a video of himself on Instagram, wearing Shenhua kit with the rest of the squad, ahd a source close to the player has confirmed to Goal that he has been re-signed in a playing capacity.
Having left Seattle Sounders in 2015, Martins scored 32 goals in 59 games across all competitions for the Chinese heavyweights, while playing a key role in the Hongkou Football Stadium giants’ Chinese FA Cup success in 2017.
However, he left the Shanghai-based team in 2018 after suffering a hamstring injury, and has been without a club ever since.
Ighalo was loaned to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Red Devils on a temporary loan deal on the final day of the January transfer window as a replacement for injured Marcus Rashford.
Having impressed in his eight appearances before lockdown and the subsequent postponement of football – scoring four goals in three starts – the club extended his loan until January 2021.
Martins’ return will strengthen Choi Kang-hee men’s attack ahead of the resumption of the Chinese Super League.
The former Super Eagles striker recently told Goal that retirement was not on his agenda despite being without a club since leaving Shanghai in 2018.
“After my career-threatening injury in China, many people advised me to quit, but I told myself I still have a lot to offer the beautiful game,” he told Goal. “Football is my life; I eat, drink and sleep football so I don’t see any reason to call time on something that makes me happy.
“I’m 34, but I feel like a teenager, and with this sensation, I can still play for any big team across the world. I’m thankful for what I have achieved in football but I thirst for more.
“That desire is still there, the desire to score more goals and win more titles. For my next move, I have got offers from the United States, China and Saudi Arabia but I will only move when I see the right bargain.”
