Former Black Stars captain Stephen Appiah says he is not surprised with the rise of Watford striker Idion Ighalo, adding that he knew about him during his time with Cesena.
The Nigeria striker who is on the shortlist for the Player of the Month of December in the English Premier League has netted 13 goals for Watford in the Barclays Premier League.
He is one of the most sought after strikers presently in the EPL, this according to Stephen Appiah doesn’t surprise him because he knew of his abilities during his time Italian side Cesena.
He failed to score any goals for Cesena and netted just once for former side Udinese.
“For me, I am not surprised that he is one of the top strikers in the EPL today. I played with him during my time with Cesena during the 2010–-2011 football season”, Appiah told footballcrusader.com.
“I took him as a little brother whom I advised from time to time, but since then I never had the chance to meet him again or hear anything about him.”
Ighalo played three just games for Italian side Cesena throughout the year and was not able to score a goal, an action according to Appiah was due to the stiff competition in the Cesena team at that time.
In between his time in Spain, the Nigerian played three just games for Italian side Cesena.
“We had several experienced players in the team back then so it was difficult for him to break into the first team, and he was very young too. But I saw a few traits of what he can do at training and on a few occasions that he was given the chance to play”, Appiah added.
In his teens, he played for Prime and Julius Berger — renamed as Bridge FC — in Nigeria where he was picked up by agent Marcelo Houseman who secured him a move to Lyn in Norway.
There, he was astonished to discover snow for the first time. While some of his fellow countrymen could not tolerate the cold and moved back home, Ighalo was intent on succeeding to keep out of the strife he had left behind.
Then, at 19, he got a big move to Udinese — where Alexis Sanchez was a team-mate — and became part of the Pozzo family. Loans to Pozzo-owned Granada, who he helped to promotion to the Spanish top flight, preceded a loan then permanent transfer to Pozzo-owned Watford.
Ighalo moved to Europe and signed for Norwegian side Lyn Oslo, where he impressed instantly.
Stephen Appiah Not Surprised With Watford Striker Odion Ighalo"s Rise
