Odion Ighalo has opted to snub a return to the Premier League with Tottenham Hotspur and joined Chinese Super League (CSL) outfit Shanghai Shenhua for the upcoming 2019 season, which starts on March 1.

The former Watford striker, who scored 20 goals in his debut season to help the club earn promotion to the top flight, has been heavily linked with a move to England with Mauricio Pochettino's Spurs and even Barcelona believed to be interested in signing the Nigeria international.

However, that scenario is out of the question now with Shenhua announcing on Thursday morning that Ighalo has completed his move from Changchun Yatai, where the 29-year-old finished as the CSL's second top scorer with 21 strikes but was unable to save his team from avoiding the drop.

In a recent interview with Sky Sports, Ighalo has opened up about the conflicting emotions he felt over the possible Spurs move.  "Tottenham is a big team, and every player would like to play for them but if you look now, Harry Kane is playing regularly, and Fernando Llorente isn't," he mused.

"For Kane not to play for Spurs means he'll be out for many months. For me, I will like to play for a team that will play me regularly."

It is highly unlikely Ighalo would warm the bench at Shenhua in the new campaign as the CSL giants, who are set to host defending champions Shanghai SIPG in the highly-anticipated Shanghai derby on opening day, could barely disguise their admiration for Ighalo's exceptional quality.

"We are deeply convinced that Ighalo will integrate into our team as quickly as possible," gushed Shenhua in an official statement. "And the club expect him to score a lot of goals and lead us to significant victories."

There's no doubt that Ighalo will be in safe hands at the Hongkou Football Stadium as he links up with Quique Sanchez Flores once more after spending an impressive season with the current Shenhua coach at Watford.

(Cover Photo: Shanghai Shenhua unveiled a welcome poster for new signing Ighalo courtesy of Shenhua's official website)