Leicester City are currently third in the Premier League with 63 points, albeit only two clear of fourth-placed Chelsea. While Jamie Vardy has been unable to score the much-needed goals to help solidify their chances of securing Champions League football, Kelechi Iheanacho has stepped up this time.
The Nigerian striker has scored 9 goals in his last 8 league appearances and has also been a crucial part of Leicester’s progression to the finals of the FA Cup. Interestingly, Iheanacho scored 14 goals in his last 76 appearances for Leicester and has now managed to score the same amount in his last 14 games for the club in itself.
Last season, the forward scored 10 goals across all competitions, and this time around, he has almost doubled that tally with 17 goals and games yet to be played. The 24-year-old currently stands as one of the only reasons why Leicester City are still in a Champions League place.
Additionally, if they do manage to hold on to the position, Iheanacho will be the one to thank for it due to his consistency in front of the goal since March.
15 – Kelechi Iheanacho is the first Nigerian player to score 15 goals in a season in all competitions for a Premier League club since Odion Ighalo scored 17 in 2015/16 for Watford. Seniorman. #EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/9QtlWId0rJ
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 18, 2021
Iheanacho has mostly been deployed as a replacement for Jamie Vardy during his time at Leicester, but recent injuries have made Brendan Rodgers deploy Jamie Vardy and Iheanacho together. That combination has paid off well since the goals are coming in steadily.
We could finally be seeing a turnaround in the fortunes of the Nigerian, who, with the right amount of confidence, could be trusted with the task of replacing Vardy in time.
