Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole has claimed that loan signing Odion Ighalo could not have done much more to make his start to life at the club better.

Ighalo's arrival on January deadline day was widely questioned following his stint in the Chinese Super League, but so far the Nigerian has looked like a shrewd acquisition with four goals from eight appearances across all competitions.

The 30-year-old is currently due to leave Old Trafford at the end of May and so could have played his last game for the club if no extension is agreed with Shanghai Shenhua, but Cole believes that he has already shown his quality.

"I am really pleased with him. When you come to a club like Manchester United as a centre forward, everyone expects you to score straight away, but it takes a little bit of time," Cole is quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News.

"And like Odion said himself, he wasn't fit and was just coming in from pre-season in China. I think he has done pretty well when he has been given the opportunity, he has applied himself really well in the club and has scored four good goals, four centre forward goals, you can't ask for much more."

Ighalo has repeatedly expressed his desire to stay at boyhood club United beyond the end of his current loan deal, while he also identified Cole as one of his footballing heroes growing up.