Manchester United have snatched Odion Ighalo from Shanghai Shenhua in a surprise last-minute loan move.
The 30-year-old striker will be on loan until the end of the season in May.
It is believed that United was forced to bring in the experienced Nigerian attacker after an effort to snatch Bournemouth's Josh king hit a snag. Ighalo will fill the gap left by injured Marcus Rashford.
"He will come in and give us an option of a different type of centre forward for the short spell he’s staying with us," United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.
"A great lad and very professional, he will make the most of his time here," he added.
Ighalo's availability was enabled by the Chinese Football Association's move to postpone its domestic league matches for the 2020 season to curb the spread of the Coronavirus.
United is expected to pay Ighalo £3M (Sh398 million) for the whole time he will be playing for the team but £100,000 (13 million) per week to the striker.
The 30-year-old joined Changchun Yatai in 2017 before switching to Shanghai Shenhua. He was the 2019 AFCON top scorer with five goals and has notched 39 goals for Watford in 100 appearances between 2014 and 2017.
Ighalo joins Sporting Lisbon's Bruno Fernandes and goalkeeper Nathan Bishop form the Southend United as United's latest January signing.