Kelechi Iheanacho coming of age in a Leicester City shirt

Kelechi Iheanacho has largely struggled to make an impact since his move to Leicester City from Manchester City, but in recent times he has really stepped up, beginning to make a real name for himself in a Foxes’ shirt.

The 24-year-old signed for the East Midlands club in 2017 for £25 million, a fee which raised many eyebrows at the time having rarely featured for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola, but the club always knew there was a player in there, it was just a case of getting the best out of him.

The Nigerian international has made 115 appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ side in all competitions since his move and has netted 27 goals in the process, although just 15 of these have come in league action and he has been much improved this term.

The striker’s form has picked up in the last couple of league outings, scoring a crucial leveller at Turf Moor on Wednesday in a 1-1 draw with Burnley before scoring the goal that sparked a comeback against Brighton last night and helped Rodgers’ men secure a vital 2-1 win to lift them to second in the table, for a few hours at least.

He has now netted seven goals this term for the Foxes in all competitions. He has really picked up his output in front of goal lately, notching in four of the last seven games in all competitions to highlight his importance to the side.

Rodgers spoke about how pleased was with his strike pair in his post-match press conference.

“It was a great finish [by Iheanacho] and he is working very hard. Jamie is amazing for us. He is such a threat. With all the injuries we are tying to get as many attacking players on the pitch as we can. Delighted for the players but there are one or two things we can look at.”

The main man Jamie Vardy has struggled to find any sort of form of late and is without a goal in six games and has just one in his last 14 matches which will come as a real concern for Rodgers. The way in which Iheanacho has contributed during this spell will have really helped to ease the pain.

For much of the former City man’s Leicester career, he has been forced for cameos off the bench due to the injuries to the likes of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes. Rodgers played Vardy and Iheanacho as strike pairing, something which has rarely happened previously.

The pair complement each other really well with Iheanacho developing his game brilliantly despite still only being 24-years-old. He is smart, decisive and cool in the box, something which was picked up during his time at the Etihad where he scored 21 goals for the first team in all competitions.

Against Brighton, the duo were a constant threat, linking up superbly well throughout and if certain moments had worked out better, there could have been more goals. With the strike pair constantly trying to pick each other out with their relationship on the field clearly growing game by game.

He is certainly one of the most improved players in the Foxes’ squad this term, offering his side a great threat and a real alternative to Vardy who has been a critical part of the side for several years and gives Rodgers and his coaching staff a different way of playing moving forward.

Despite the injuries in attacking areas, Iheanacho continues to be ruthless when presented with an opportunity and will be an important part of the side in the final months of the season as the club look to secure a place in the Champions League for next season as well as having one eye on lifting the FA Cup come the end of the campaign.

His pace is one of his best attributes and he knows how to use it well, constantly playing on the last defender, using his intelligent movement to deceive opponents to give them a torrid time of things.

With all the players that are currently out of the team, it looks key that the Foxes keep Iheanacho fit between now and the end of the season, particularly with Vardy a little off colour in front of goal and struggling for confidence.

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