Kelechi Iheanacho: the eyes of East Midlands are upon you

A disastrous tackle on Wolves defender Matt Doherty by Jamie Vardy has left the Foxes without their striker, as his 66th minute red card will certainly lead to the English international’s suspension. With the No.9 suspended, the Foxes will be looking at their No.8 to lead their attack.

A Pyrrhic Victory

The victory against Wolves was a deserved one. Though the Foxes were at times outplayed by the Wanderers. Yet, the East Midlands club showed their quality and earned all three points in a 2-0 victory. However, in their victory came a major defeat.

The Foxes will be without one of their most proficient goal scorers and in recent Premier League history. Since entering the Premier League in 2014, Vardy has scored 63 goals: making him one of the top goal scorers in the premiership since Leicester’s promotion from the Championship. Furthermore, the Foxes have become incredibly reliant on the 31-year-old’s goal scoring abilities.

Leicester City have scored a total of 221 goals in five seasons since rejoining the Premier League. Of all those goals, Vardy scored nearly 29 per cent of them. Vardy on the pitch is a necessity for the Foxes’ success. However, the red card against Wolves has left Leicester without their main goal scorer.

Iheanacho: the striker with all the potential

Much like the match against Manchester United when Vardy was on the bench, Nigerian international Kelechi Iheanacho will be the clear replacement for the speedy Englishman. However, Iheanacho’s career at Leicester has had its ebbs and flows since joining the club from Manchester City.

In his two seasons at Man City: Iheanacho made 64 appearances in all competitions and scored 21 goals, with 12 of them coming in the Premier League. However, since joining the Blue Army, Iheanacho has not had the same impact. While a Fox, the 21-year-old made 31 appearances and earned eight goals. Unfortunately, only three of those goals were scored in the Premier League. Though Iheanacho has not performed to the ability that he has shown at Man City, there is no doubt that the Nigerian international has quality.

Iheanacho has the skill to out muscle and control the ball from defenders with his size – in addition to clinical finishing ability. Though he may not have the pace of Vardy; Iheanacho makes up for his lack of speed by having terrific on-field vision and always finds his way into a goal scoring position. We saw all of these attributes during Leicester’s preseason.

In the final three games of the break, the clear breakout star for the Foxes was the young Nigerian striker. In friendly matches against Udinese, Valencia CF, and Lille OSC, Iheanacho managed four goals and played incredibly well. Simply put, it was some of the best performances Iheanacho produced in a Leicester kit so far. Yet, the problem with Iheanacho is that in low-stakes matches the young striker plays to his potential. When in a high-pressure scenario with the team relying on him, the Nigerian has faltered.

A Case of the “Yips”

As mentioned before, in low pressure situations the Nigerian is a superb striker. In five appearances in the FA Cup last season and scored four goals; while in two appearances in the League Cup the 21-year-old earned one goal.

Now, early stage cup matches are not high-stakes matches one would see like in the Premier League. Consequently, the Cup matches Iheanacho played in were earlier rounds. With these performances combined with an excellent preseason, it proves that Iheanacho is at his best when the stakes are low.

When the 21-year-old is depended on as the primary goal scorer in an important match, the striker has a history of having a case nerves. The pressure seemingly gets to the young player and his performance on the pitch is a disappointment.

In Russia for the 2018 World Cup, Iheanacho performed poorly. According to French newspaper L’Equipe rated him as one of the worst players in the World Cup. The young striker had an average player rating of 3.5 – as claimed by the French publication. This criticism is not undeserved. Iheanacho had a weak World Cup. In three matches Iheanacho was only able to produce three shots, with none of them being on target.

In a Foxes uniform, when Vardy was on the bench against United, Iheanacho failed to convert two strong scoring opportunities. The frustration was visible, as at one point – while missing a scoring opportunity – Iheanacho put his hands on his head and screamed in the air.

After a disappointing display by Iheanacho, the Foxes were only able to score a last gasp goal from Jamie Vardy; as he took over the main striker role from Iheanacho. However, for the next three games the Foxes will not have the luxury to rely on Vardy to score a gritty goal like he did against United. It is up to the Nigeria player to do that now.

The eyes of Leicester City are upon you

The Foxes have multiple matches without Jamie Vardy. Unless manager Claude Puel makes a surprise decision, Iheanacho will take over Vardy’s role as main striker. The Nigerian is a talented player, with an incredible amount of potential. He has proven that he is an effective and powerful striker. However, when the pressure is on Iheanacho has a history of folding under pressure.

Ideally, the Foxes are able to earn four points over the next two league games; with a win against Southampton. Liverpool will be extremely tough – either way – so a draw is a bonus. Vardy also misses the Carabao Cup clash with former side Fleetwood Town. For the Foxes to beat Bournemouth, Iheanacho needs to play to his potential – along with new stars like Ricardo Pereira and James Maddison. The Nigerian has proved that he is a top talent. Now it is time for him to implement his talent – when Leicester need him the most.