- Odion Ighalo has scored 16 goals in 30 appearances for Changchun Yatai since he joined them in 2017
- The 28-year-old current with Chen Jingang's side runs out in 2020 after joining them from Premier League side Watford in 2017
- He is currently in the Nigerian team camp ahead of their friendly game against Serbia in London
Nigeria international Odion Ighalo says the Chinese Super League is tougher than what he was told prior to his move to China in 2017.
The 28-year-old made a switch from the English Premier League to join Changchun Yatai in a three-year deal worth € 23.3 million.
He explained that he was told the competition at the league was very low, adding that he would score in almost all the matches, but that is not the case, as he has only scored 16 goals in 30 topflight matches so far.
"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," Ighalo said.
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"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."
In his first season at the club, he scored 15 goals from 27 games, and so far, he has scored one goal in three games so far this season.
Ighalo further explained that the Chinese League is still growing, yet scoring goals sometimes can be difficult.
"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.
"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.
"This is not what people were talking about. It's tough and it's difficult to score goals”.
The former Granada striker urges fellow African players to jump on any opportunity to play in the Chinese League.
"If the opportunity jumps on them and they think properly about it, they should go because it's an opportunity to make some money, play in Asia and to experience the life and culture there," said Ighalo.
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He continued: "Moving from England to China is a different life, the time difference, the way they live, the food, so it's totally different from what I had experienced but for me it's normal.
“Every country you go to play, you experience different and new things. I have played in six countries so it's not new to me.”
The striker is currently in the Nigerian camp as they prepare for their friendly encounter against Serbia at the Hive Stadium in London on Tuesday, March 27.
Four days before, they defeated Poland 1-0 with Chelsea wing back, Victor Moses scoring the only goal of the game at the Municipal Stadium in Wracloc.
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Source: Naija.ng