Odion Ighalo did not sleep for days. For as long as he cared to remember he had been dreaming of scoring goals in the Premier League. Then, with Watford on the brink of their return to the top flight, there came a mind-boggling offer from China, promising to pay him £40million over four years.

When he said no, they came back and offered more. They continue to bombard him with offers, each one bigger than the last. The latest is double the original and still the answer is no.

‘I have 14 goals in the Premier League, how do I go to China now?’ said Ighalo, who signed a new five-year deal in September thought to be worth about £30,000 a week.

His mind is settled but when Watford owner Gino Pozzo gave him permission to talk to Hebei China Fortune last summer, he almost left.

‘I was very close,’ he said. ‘They made a £10m bid and were offering me over £200,000 a week; a four-year contract. I couldn’t sleep for three days. That kind of money is not easy to turn down.

Some team-mates in the dressing room were saying, “You can’t miss this chance”. But I don’t jump into decisions like that.

‘I prayed about it, and God said it was not for me, no matter how much money it was. I knew God would direct me. When I said I don’t want to go, they offered me more money, almost £300,000 a week. I told them it’s not about the money.’

Chinese Super League clubs are on an aggressive recruitment drive, with money no object, brokers on the prowl and a transfer window open until February 26.

‘They have called again and I have turned them down again,’ said Ighalo. ‘Maybe if I keep scoring goals, that team will come with triple the money at the end of the season. When the time is right to go to China I will know. If it’s for me it will come to pass.

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