Leicester player reviews – Get Carter’s 20/21: Seniorman on Fire

Of course, context is a lovely visitor whenever constructing football arguments for and against players. This was only Iheanacho’s second Premier League start of the season with a smattering of substitute appearances to speak of. Despite some impressive performances against Zorya Luhansk and Braga, his chances were limited. The reliance on Vardy wasn’t helping the Sheffield legend either who was going through his own dry run of form and troublesome injuries.

February started more positively for Iheanacho. A full 90 minutes and a relatively easy header dispatched against Fulham at Craven Cottage. This was also accompanied by a strong and more aggressive Kelechi who was finally recognising the importance of annoying defenders. More than the goal this will have been what Impressed Brendan Rodgers the most. A week later he scored a late winning header against Brighton in the FA Cup to help avoid extra time.

The glut of form that nobody saw coming started March 3rd with a thunderbolt volley on the turn at Burnley, a goal that really made people sit up and remember the quality that this player has. Three days later he followed it up with a classy finish at Brighton from a delicious no-look pass from Youri Tielemans. Not content with that he set about grabbing the headlines with a Premier League hat-trick against no-hopers Sheffield United. Most notable was how this run in the team coincided with a developing partnership with Vardy.

Surprisingly, Iheanacho was actually taking up the role left by the injured James Maddison. Iheanacho was not so much a number 10 but more a false number 9 that dropped between the lines occupying spaces defenders were not prepared to drop into. This also allowed Vardy to provide more assists by occupying more wider areas when Iheanacho pushed up centrally.