Nigeria striker, Odion Ighalo, is having an unbelievable debut season in the Barclays Premier League – one that many strikers could have only dreamt about.
The 26-year-old has notched seven league goals in 11 appearances thus far – a goal return only bettered by Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy on 11.
After his exploits in the 2014/15 Championship season where he scored 20 times to help the Hornets gain promotion to the top flight, it was believed that the striker’s achievement was a mere fluke.
And the fact that his previous club records hasn’t been fantastic didn’t actually help his CV – 18 goals in over a century of appearances for both Granada and Udinese.
But Ighalo has so far proven his consistency with top-notch performances – his seventh strike against West Ham on Saturday ensured the striker surpassed Heidar Helguson and Hameur Bouzza as Watford’s all-time EPL top scorer.
“It’s not just about the scoring, but the work rate of Ighalo is really good for the team,” Watford coach, Quique Sanchez Flores, said about the Nigerian.
“He knows his defensive position and I think he always puts in a high performance.”
One conundrum in having an in-form player in your team is there’s also an equal dilemma in keeping such player happy.
This is the present predicament of Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, who must be relishing the prospect of having Ighalo, who is top scorer in all English leagues but still finds himself pondering the best possible system to suit the striker.
Nigeria play two-key 2018 FIFA World qualifying games against Swaziland before locking horns with the Pharaohs of Egypt in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
So what system works for Ighalo at Watford?
Out of the three newly promoted teams, Watford has shown more determination and courage to remain with 4 wins, 4 draws and 3 losses – which takes them to 11th on the log.
Quique has adopted an orthodox 4-4-2 system with Ighalo leading the line, supported by club skipper, Troy Deeney, who drops deeper occasionally to the midfield.
By doing this, Ighalo is given the licence to attack at full capacity; pressing forward and making opposing defenders as well as goalkeepers commit elementary errors.
“They are two strikers in form,” Crystal Palace coach, Alan Pardew, said about the pair.
“There is chemistry between the two and in the Premier League there is not a lot of that.
“But they have it, which is very fortunate for Watford. They handle the division very well.”
Apart from the goals, Ighalo has assisted in two others – meaning out of the 10 goals scored by the club this season, the former Lyn striker has a hand in nine of them.
But the Nigerian has also admitted benefiting from a wonderful partnership with Deeney.
“Troy’s assisted me for three of the seven goals I’ve scored this season,” pointed out Ighalo to Watford Official.
“But we didn’t only click now, since last season we played together up-front in the Championship and we were playing well and working hard together then,” he added.
In his few games in-charge, Oliseh has used Ighalo as the lone striker with Ahmed Musa, Sylvester Igboun and Moses Simon playing behind.
The former Borrusia Dortmund midfielder should consider pairing the ex-Granada man with recent Eagles returnee, Obafemi Martins.
Martins boasts an incredible record since joining Seattle Sounders in the MLS in 2013. The former Newcastle man has scooped 40 goals and 23 assists, which is an outstanding return for any striker.
Just like Deeney and Ighalo at Vicarage Road, Martins could form a dreadful partnership with the Watford man for the Nigerian national team.
