Tag: Iheanacho

Leicester City coach, Enzo Maresca, has revealed that Super Eagles striker, Kelechi Iheanacho might not feature at the AFCON tournament after picking up an injury, Soccernet.ng reports.

The ex-Manchester City striker made the final 25-man AFCON squad list released by Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, but doubts have been cast over the striker’s participation in the tournament after his club coach revealed he picked up an injury.

With Iheanacho set to play a significant role for Peseiro’s troops at AFCON, Maresca has revealed that he suffered a muscle injury in Leicester’s 1-1 draw against Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich Town, highlighting that the striker is still going through examinations to determine the severity of the injury.

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“Kelechi has a muscle problem two days ago. We are still waiting to see if it’s something important or a matter of days, but I don’t think he will be available for the game against Huddersfield,” the Italian said in his post-match conference in quotes revealed by Leicester Mercury.

This news comes as a blow to Jose Peseiro and the Super Eagles as a whole, as Iheanacho is a pivotal part of the team, and they’ll be keeping their hopes up as the AFCON tournament is just fourteen days away.

Leicester City is warming up for the imminent exit of Kelechi Iheanacho in January as the Championship leaders have been linked with a move for Villarreal striker Ben Brereton Diaz.

Leicester have been the standout performers in the league so far this season, but it is likely they are going to want to strengthen their side further in the upcoming January transfer window.

Leicester have been linked with a few players in recent weeks and months, with the latest name emerging being former Blackburn Rovers striker Brereton Diaz.

It is a move that would seem to make sense for Leicester, especially if current forward Iheanacho were to leave the club.

The Foxes saw a number of high-profile players leave the club in the summer, and therefore, Enzo Maresca will be keen to get to the end of the season with his squad fully intact.

While he didn’t move in the summer, Iheanacho was linked with a move away on several occasions, as teams from the Premier League and even Saudi Arabia were said to be interested in the striker.

The 27-year-old was linked with a move to Crystal Palace, Everton and Serie A side Roma during the summer, but a move never happened.

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Iheanacho has been an important player for Leicester this season, chipping in with five goals, but the forward is in the final months of his contract and the club find themselves in a tricky situation when January arrives.

According to TEAMtalk, Premier League sides including West Ham, Brentford, and Palace are all interested in signing the Nigerian in January.

So, if Iheanacho were to leave, Leicester should be going all out to sign Diaz as his replacement.

However, if Iheanacho were to leave Leicester, they couldn’t solely rely on Jamie Vardy to seal their promotion for the rest of the campaign.

Therefore, if the Nigerian international were to leave in January and the links to Diaz are true, then Leicester need to push and secure the deal ahead of the likes of Southampton and Burnley.

• Newcastle, Tottenham battle for Ndidi

Crystal Palace is the leading team among the three Premier League clubs in race to sign Leicester City star Kelechi Iheanacho

A recent report from TeamTalk claimed the Eagles are heading a three-horse race to sign the Foxes’ soon-to-be free agent.

Iheanacho, 27, has spent the majority of his career at the King Power – signing for the Foxes from Manchester City back in 2017, the Nigerian has featured in well over 200 games for the club.

However, with his contract set to expire next summer and the Championship side showing no signs of reaching an agreement over a renewal, there is a growing expectation that next season could see Iheanacho return to the Premier League, even if his current club do not.

And with Palace, West Ham and Brentford all in the mix to offer the 27-year-old a route out of Leicester, this summer certainly looks to be the time the Foxes’ number 14 moves in search of a new challenge.

In  a related development, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly  among several clubs monitoring the situation of Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.

Read Also: Iheanacho scores, Boniface provides assist for Leicester, Leverkusen

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe will be looking in January to find someone to fill the gap left by Sandro Tonali following the Italy international’s 10-month ban for illegal betting.

TeamTalk has reported that Newcastle join the likes of Tottenham and Barcelona as well as many others with an interest in Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi.

The Nigerian has 12 games under his belt for high-flying Leicester in the Championship and has amassed one goal and three assists in the process.

With his contract set to expire in the summer, January will be the perfect time to swoop as he should be available for a cut-price fee, reducing the risk for Newcastle.

He already has Premier League experience and the former Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers once referred to him as a ‘world-class learner’, something that absolutely fits the mould for an Eddie Howe transfer.

Also, Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly one of the clubs keen on signing the Nigeria international.

A report from TeamTalk claimed  that Tottenham are ‘considering a January approach’ for the midfielder with 192 Premier League appearances.

Super Eagles attacker Kelechi Iheanacho scored the final goal for Leicester City in their 3-1 victory over Swansea City on Saturday, Soccernet reports.

Iheanacho scored a rocket for Nigeria in their 2-2 draw against Saudi Arabia during the international break. However, he started from the bench when Leicester City travelled to the Swansea.com Stadium.

Meanwhile, Ndidi kept his place in midfield. It was a bad start for the Foxes, as they fell behind after 20 minutes after a goal from Matt Grimes.

However, Leicester bounced back just before halftime courtesy a strike from Jannik Vestergaard. Then in the 63rd minute, Leicester City took the lead through Issahaku Fatawu.

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Iheanacho was introduced into the game in the 83rd minute, and it took him just three minutes to make his impact felt as he scored in the 87th minute.

Similarly, Victor Boniface continues his impressive run with important contribution in Wolfsburg win.

The Super Eagles striker Victor Boniface registered an assist for Bayer Leverkusen in their 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena.

Coach Xabi Alonso fixed Boniface in the starting lineup when Bayer Leverkusen travelled to Wolfsburg for their Bundesliga fixture. Die Werkself have been in impeccable season this season, winning seven of their eight top-flight games.

Inter Milan are eyeing a possible free transfer move for Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho next summer, according to reports in Italy.

The Nigerian striker is one of the players who is due to be out of contract with the club at the end of the season, meaning that he will be available on a free transfer should he not sign a new deal with the club. That is said to have alerted Inter to his availability.

According to FC Inter News, the Italian side have “registered” their interest in the striker, but are still not fully sure if they will make a move. It is said that the club are looking to make “various assessments” on the player before making a firm decision as they plan early for which free agents to move for in just under a year.

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It’s not the first time that Inter have been linked with an interest in Iheanacho. The 27-year-old was said to have been identified as a possible option for the Serie A club before the start of the summer transfer window, although no move ever materialised.

Iheanacho remained at City beyond the summer, despite his contract situation. He has shared the lone striker role with Jamie Vardy this season, with Iheanacho scoring four times in the Championship, with three of those goals coming in his last three games.

The striker has been with City since joining from Manchester City in the summer of 2017. He opened up about links away from the City in the summer last month.

Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho said he has put Friday’s 2-2 draw with Saudi Arabia behind as Super Eagles focus on Monday’s friendly against Mozambique.

Iheanacho started the game on the bench as head coach Jose Peseiro preferred Victor Boniface and Victor Osimhen to lead the attack for the Super Eagles.

After the encounter, Iheanacho was disappointed that Nigeria could not pull off the win the team desired against Saudi Arabia.

But the former Manchester City forward was keen on moving on to the Super Eagles next match.

Iheanacho wrote on Twitter: “Not the result we wanted. We learn and focus on the next game.”

Read Also:Enoh tasks Super Eagles to win AFCON 2023

Nigeria will next trade tackles with Mozambique on Monday, in another international friendly in Portugal.

Nigeria created the best chances of the encounter in the opening hour. Still, they fell behind against the run of play after goalkeeper Francis Uzoho made a mess of Salman Al Faraj’s direct free-kick.

Iheanacho replaced Samuel Chukwueze five minutes later, and the Super Eagles celebrated their equaliser in the 73rd minute through an Abdulelah Al Amri own goal.

The Leicester City striker smashed Nigeria into the lead with a brilliant left-footed effort into the top corner from the edge of the box in the 81st minute, before Mohamed Kanno’s deflected free-kick deep into stoppage time earned Saudi Arabia a share of the spoils.

Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho has said that it’s “never a battle” with Jamie Vardy as both share the place in the starting line-up under Enzo Maresca.

The City boss has shared the starting place as the sole striker between both Vardy and Iheanacho so far this season. The latter was named in the line-up against Stoke City on Saturday, and scored City’s first goal.

He was replaced by Vardy in the second half, with the striker doubling City’s lead within minutes of entering the pitch. The goals mean that both players have scored four times in the Championship so far this season.

Speaking after the win against Stoke, Iheanacho was asked about the competition for places between him and Vardy. He was quick to put any assumption of any sort of rivalry over a starting place to bed.

“Let me put that right, it’s never a battle with me and Jamie, he’s a legend in the game, he’s done a lot for this great club, so it’s never a battle for me and Jamie,” he said. “I’ve got absolute respect for him, he’s a legend as I’ve said before, so it’s never a battle.

Read Also: Iheanacho, Vardy steer Leicester to victory

“If he plays, he scores, you know what he’s like. So, if I play, I do my bit. Me, Jamie, Patson (Daka), it’s never a battle, we are happy with where we are at the moment.”

City have shared the goals around the team this season. Both strikers scoring in the same game is only a good thing, according to Iheanacho who highlighted the camaraderie between the forwards at the club.

“It’s a great motivation for both of us. Everyone is happy at the moment with what we are doing,” he added.

“We have a lot of strikers as well, me, Patson, Jamie and Tom Cannon. So it’s a lot, we are together, work together as a team and whoever plays gives his absolute best and gives his best for the football club.”

Kelechi Iheanacho and Jamie Vardy were both on target as Leicester stayed top of the Championship with a 2-0 victory against Stoke at the King Power Stadium.

Iheanacho scored for the third successive game as the dominant Foxes reached the 30-point mark from only 11 games and already have a 10-point cushion to third.

But, once more, Enzo Maresca’s side had to work hard for their victory against stubborn opponents, with injury-hit Stoke providing the league leaders with few chances until the latter stages.

Read Also: Iheanacho’s impact at Leicester thrills Emile Heskey

Iheanacho broke the deadlock after 24 minutes but Leicester had to wait until the 79th minute before substitute Vardy netted his fourth league goal of the season from close range.

The result meant the Foxes recorded three home league wins in succession, without conceding, for the first time since April 2017, when Craig Shakespeare was in charge.

When asked on Kelechi Iheanacho’s situation at the King Power Stadium, former Leicester favourite Emile Heskey has said it was  unexpected that the Nigerian remained at the club despite transfer interest, but ultimately it is the club’s gain that the 27-year-old feels comfortable enough to stay.

“Yes and no,” Heskey told Football League World on behalf of sharemarketcap.com.

“Iheanacho is quite comfortable at Leicester, obviously the fans love him.

“He’s a fantastic goal scorer and his goal contributions are generally very good when he starts or when he comes on.

“He either scores or assists, it’s just phenomenal.

Read Also: Iheanacho targets more wins with Leicester

He added: “I thought it was very interesting that they managed to keep him but great because when you’re looking at the players that Leicester have got, there’s a lot of Premier League stars.”

The Foxes could lose the striker for absolutely nothing in less than 12 months time should he decide not to extend his stay in the East Midlands, and considering they paid £25m for him, it would be nice to at least get something back.

Iheanacho however seems very comfortable with where his career currently stands, and should Leicester be back in the Premier League next season as many expect, then it may be easier to re-negotiate a contract at the end of the current campaign.

With the amount of experience that Iheanacho possesses in the top flight of English football, Leicester did the right thing in keeping hold of him and not being tempted enough to cash in on his services.

Under coach Enzo Maresca, the 27-year-old has started five of Leicester’s nine Championship fixtures with Jamie Vardy selected for the other four, and he has so far netted two league goals against Norwich and Blackburn Rovers.

After returning to scoring chart in Leicester City’s 4-1 away win over Blackburn Rovers in the English Championship, Kelechi Iheanacho believes his goals would continue to lift the team to record more wins.

Naturally, the former Manchester City forward was thrilled to be back on the scoresheet, with another spot-kick taking his seasonal tally up to three goals.

“Obviously, when you’re in there and you see the opportunity, you take it,” he explained. “It was a penalty and I’ll take the chance. It was a good team performance today so the team deserves a lot of credit.

“It’s two penalties for me, but I’ll take that. We’ll be focused on the next game now and hopefully we’ll get more goals and another good team performance.”

Remaining calm and battling through a tactical battle helped Leicester to an ultimately commanding win at Blackburn, said Iheanacho.

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“We started well and we scored, but they are a very good side with the ball,” Iheanacho said. “We had a tough time in the first half. We suffered a lot, but we were up in the first half 2-1.

“It was a strong game, but in the second half, we controlled more, and we nailed them in the counter attacks and got the goals that we wanted.

“They move a lot. We watched them a lot on the video, so we knew that. We tried to control the situation, but unfortunately, they got back in the game. We stayed calm and continued working hard.

“We kept going to earn the second goal. It was a really tough game for us, but I think we controlled it more in the second half. It was a great team performance.

“We’re on top now, but it’s a tough league. We need to keep going because there’s a lot of games. We have a big squad, so we need to manage ourselves and keep getting the wins.

“We just keep learning and going game by game and, at the end of the season, we’ll see where we are,” he added.