Breaking Emile Heskey Reveals Surprise At Leicester City Decision Involving Kelechi Iheanacho

Breaking Emile Heskey Reveals Surprise At Leicester City Decision Involving Kelechi Iheanacho

 

Breaking Emile Heskey Reveals Surprise At Leicester City Decision Involving Kelechi Iheanacho

The Foxes were able to fend off transfer interest to keep Iheanacho at the club this summer

Leicester City’s plan to return to the Premier League is going smoothly, with eight wins in nine matches in the Championship.
The squad, including Kelechi Iheanacho, has top-flight experience and quality, despite being relegated last season.
It was surprising that Iheanacho stayed at Leicester amidst transfer interest, but it’s a plus for new coach Maresca and the fans love him.
Leicester City’s plan to be back in the Premier League at the start of the 2024-25 season is going very smoothly so far, winning eight of their first nine matches in the Championship.

And it is somewhat to be expected considering the squad that new head coach Enzo Maresca is working with, having been able to keep a good number of last season’s squad that has plenty of top flight experience.

Despite that squad being the one that were relegated with the Foxes in the first place, there is plenty of quality on offer for a club that is plying its trade in the second tier of English football, and one of those he can call upon is Kelechi Iheanacho.

Iheanacho has been at Leicester for six years now since his move from Man City, and whilst he hasn’t always been prolific, he did score 19 times in all competitions in the 2020-21 season, with four of those coming in the club’s run to winning the FA Cup.

Under 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.

With less than 12 months to go though on his contract, there was plenty of speculation over the summer that Iheanacho would depart, with Crystal Palace, Everton and Besiktas among the reported interested parties.

What has Emile Heskey said on Kelechi Iheanacho’s Leicester City situation?

When asked on Iheanacho’s situation at the King Power Stadium, former Leicester favourite Emile Heskey has said it was a tad unexpected that the Nigerian remained at the club despite transfer interest, but ultimately it is Maresca’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 in regards to whether or not he was surprised that Leicester were able to keep Iheanacho in the summer window.

 

“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.

 

“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.”

 

Should Leicester have cashed in on Kelechi Iheanacho?

It was risky business for Leicester to not try and get some money for Iheanacho considering the contract situation he finds himself in right now.

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 £25 million 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.