Leicester: Rodgers relied on Iheanacho now he must repay striker
Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers relied on Kelechi Iheanacho for much of last season, in which he was top scorer. A huge proportion of the Blue Army believed the manager must repay the striker, especially as the Foxes attack isn’t 100 per cent efficient.
Rodgers was rewarded by Iheanacho in 2020/21 when he almost had no choice but to start the forward. Now’s the time to include the Nigerian from the beginning again, as Foxes of Leicester views the scenario.
A strong call from pundits and Leicester fans encouraging the Northern Irishman to start Iheanacho derived from what is described in basketball as the ‘hot hand’, rather than data, per se.
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That’s not to say that Iheanacho’s stats aren’t superior to many highly-rated Premier League and FA Cup strikers last season – and Foxes of Leicester shall take a little look at that information. Unfortunately, ‘Nacho’ has not been offered enough playing minutes or a position in the LCFC eleven to continue as the man in form.
To be honest that fact is odd, as Rodgers oversaw and benefited from the former Manchester City man’s excellent run of goals, in particular, in the previous campaign. Ayoze Perez certainly could make way in a system alteration or tweak.
Maybe the Leicester gaffer is of the opinion that ‘senior man’ is best utilised as a substitute: the latter entered the Community Shield against the Citizens as such and subsequently won the match. But he was involved in six goals in seven appearances – five as a starter – in last term’s Europa League competition. Meaning he can do the business in the side – with or without Jamie Vardy as accompaniment.
Take the English top-flight for example: Iheanacho started a mere 16 of the outings – predominately in, around and after March when Rodgers needed a spark without Vardy scoring – and entered into games late nine times, along with shockingly being unused on 13 occasions. Iheanacho managed to produce 12 goals and two assists in the EPL still; with those cited figures, that is a remarkable achievement which backs assessments that he should be in the XI.
Leicester City versus Napoli is the game to watch out for
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A lot of observers think Iheanacho will be given his initial place in the starting team in any competition in 2021/22 against Napoli in the UEL on Thursday evening. FoL concur; a narrow right-sided role would be fascinating and surely suffice for the unpredictable yet talented Nigeria international. Let’s hope he’s primed and ready to prove us all right, and reclaims that trust from the manager.