Iheanacho described as £25m ‘potential flop’ at Leicester

Kelechi Iheanacho, Super Eagles forward, has been described as a possible “flop” in the colours of Leicester City.

Iheanacho who joined Leicester City in 2017 has not lived up to the expectations of the East Midland fans.

According to Jamie Kemble of Leicester Mercury UK, the £25 million player needs to show desire to earn his place with The Foxes.

“Failure to do so [improve on his performance], and he will join Islam Slimani in becoming Leicester City’s next £20million+ flop,” Kemble said.

“This is the time to stand up, put in performances and win over the fans that need someone to put a smile on their face.

“This may be the best opportunity Iheanacho gets to prove his worth, but first he will have to break out of this torrid vein of form and a goal drought dating back to last September.

“The Nigerian international is now in his second season with the Foxes, and his form hasn’t improved, in fact, it has deteriorated even further.

“He came into the campaign in fine form, scoring four goals in three pre-season games after returning from World Cup commitments in Russia with Nigeria.

“However, that pre-season form hasn’t translated to the Premier League.

“Iheanacho has scored just one goal in his 22 appearances this season -13 of those outings have come via the bench. He has managed four assists, but in terms of goals, he’s still not delivering on his £25 million price tag.

“The 22-year-old has averaged just 0.7 shots per game this season and has an average of a goal every 869 minutes.

“He is in the bottom 10 players in the Premier League in terms of average rating, based on WhoScored stats, accumulating a performance average of 6.28 per game”.

According to Kemble, a season-and-a-half after arriving at the King Power Stadium, Coach Claude Puel and the Blue Army are running out of patience with their once-billed ‘new star striker’.

Kemble explained the rationale behind Leicester splashing £25m on Iheanacho: “Iheanacho joined Leicester City from Manchester City for a reported fee of £25 million in 2017 and at the time, he was still being billed as one of the Premier League’s brightest up and coming talents.

“Man City actually had to battle off plenty of other interested clubs to sign him in 2014 following his terrific performance in the 2013 under-17 World Cup.

“He had impressed at Manchester City, scoring eight in 26 during his first full season in the first team with 19 of those outings being from the bench, and then scoring four and assisting three in 20 appearances, 15 of which were off the bench.

“It’s true that Iheanacho wasn’t seen as a superstar striker, the sort of which you need to be to displace Sergio Aguero and co, but he was certainly viewed as a striker who would go on to have a successful Premier League career.

“As a youngster at Manchester City, he showed a great attitude, coming off the bench and putting in very decent displays, and he appeared hungry to continue his development when Leicester City came knocking, looking to invest some of their Champions League earnings in 2017.

“On paper, it was a bold yet potentially shrewd move from City who had, and still has, youth In his first season in the East Midlands; Iheanacho scored three goals in 21 appearances, also setting up three. He averaged just 1.3 shots per game, netting a goal on average every 9.6 shots.

“With this, Iheanacho’s first season didn’t go down too well given the fee paid for his services.

“The Nigerian has been considered a perfect replacement for star striker Jamie Vardy who has been struggling in front of goal this season, but Iheanacho has not taken up the gauntlet.

“Iheanacho has only netted one goal in 22 appearances this season.”