The Watford man is a shoo-in for the prestigious Goal NPOTY

[dropcap][/dropcap]here are a number of reasons why, without doubt, Odion Ighalo has been Nigeria ’s standout footballer in 2015.

Bigger and better: Goal Nigeria Player of the Year 2015
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We know the numbers: his debut season in the Premier League, widely believed to be the best in the world (no, we will not have this argument), has yielded 12 goals, and this before Christmas. At this canter, he is on pace for 26 by the end of 2015/2016, a figure which would be a record for a Nigerian footballer in Europe’s top five leagues.

This is all the more remarkable because there is not much precedent of a player so prolific after promotion to the Premier League.

Jamie Vardy has been the toast of England, and rightly so in light of his record-setting scoring run. However, he only scored five times in 34 league appearances last term, and even though he laid on 10 assists, there was little seismic about his first season.

Ighalo, on the other hand, has made his mark on both divisions with similar immediacy, almost blurring the lines between the English Championship, a division regarded as a muddy, unglamorous slog, and its glitzy, daintier stepsister. The former Udinese man has seduced both with equal fervour, leaving behind a trail of trembling knees and wanton carnage.

He scored 20 times in the English second tier, a vital return as Watford surged to the Premier League for the first time in eight years. After spending three years on loan in Spain with Granada, it was a statement: Ighalo was ready to put down roots.

His goals have been refreshingly diverse in type: from headers to rockets, hooked volleys to rounding the goalkeeper. His 25 goals in the calendar year is unmatched across all tiers of English football, and he is already the top scorer for the Hornets in a Premier League season.

Ighalo | The records just keep on falling

The one lingering doubt as to his quality was answered emphatically last weekend, as the 26-year-old delivered his first big performance against one of England’s traditional top-four sides, helping the Hornets to devastate Liverpool. His rap-sheet before the game was marked with some of the less fashionable sides in the English top-flight – Sunderland, Norwich, Newcastle, West Ham, Bournemouth, Swansea and Everton are hardly the cream of an admittedly blighted Premier League crop this season.

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