Leicester City of England attacker, Kelechi Iheanacho has earned plaudits from his strike-partner, Jamie Vardy and former Liverpool hitman, Emile Heskey, following his continued burst of goals in the English Premier League, megasportsarena.com reports.
With Iheanacho on song again on Thursday, as he finally broke his long standing record of total goals scored in a single EPL season, the Super Eagles’ star gained accolades from two of the best strikers from varying generations in England.
Ihenaacho’s latest round of heroics helped The Foxes romp to a 3-0 spanking of West Bromwich Albion at King Power Stadium on Thursday night, thereby putting his side in stronger contention for a spot in the UEFA Champions League next season.
While Semi Ajayi entered the game from West Brom off the bench at half-time, Iheanacho and Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi put in a full shift for Leicester, who moved four points clear into the top-four on the EPL table with six games to play.
However, it was Vardy that opened scoring for The Foxes in the 23rd minute, as he struck home his seventh in ten fixtures, after which Jonny Evans netted against his former club three minutes later and Iheanacho wrapped up the scoring for Leicester.
The former Columbus Crew of America and Manchester City of England youngster made his mark after set himself before sending a deflected effort past Johnstone after he was set up by Vardy.
It could have been a hat-trick, as the game was remarkably open from the outset, Kelechi Iheanacho squandering a one-on-one chance in the third minute, a poor touch allowing Sam Johnstone to close him down.
Later on, Vardy attempted an ambitious effort from distance that did not begin to trouble Johnstone, while Iheanacho tested West Brom’s goalkeeper rather more with a curling free-kick, after which Matheus Pereira did manage to strike the crossbar with a corner.
Allardyce made a change at the interval, adding defender Ajayi for forward Callum Robinson, and with Leicester having done the hard work it made for a calmer second period but, when Vardy turned Dara O’Shea and unselfishly passed to Iheanacho, it was three.
Hal Robson-Kanu also got off The Baggies’ bench, but nothing changed, as Iheanacho’s 36th minute goal sealed victory for The Foxes, and he was left relishing his 11th goal in eight games, though he could have made it 4-0 before half-time, as he fired the ball over the bar after exhibiting some captivating control skill.
The bottom-line of it all, though, was that Iheanacho had taken his tally to nine goals this season in the EPL, thereby setting a new personal record for himself in the English top-flight and Vardy declared that he is not surprised with the Nigerian star’s burst of form, as he has stepped up his efforts in training.
Vardy told BBC Sport: “Nothing has changed with Kelechi Iheanacho, it’s just clicked for him. That’s what we see in training every day. He should have scored more today but so should I!”
A similar view was expressed by Heskey, who confessed that he has been awed by seeing Iheanacho clinical for The Foxes since the start of March, netting eight goals in his last six EPL, as many as he had in his previous 63 appearances in the division.
Iheanacho, who has outscored Vardy this season, netting 16 in all competitions and the former England man scoring 15, got his sixth consecutive EPL start, and Heskey admitted that the UAE 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup most valuable player has silenced his critics with his performances, after failing to make a mark in his first two seasons at King Power Stadium.
Heskey opined during Premier League Productions just before the game kicked off: “I think it’s not just me, he has proved a lot of people wrong. We all knew what he was capable of doing because you don’t come from Manchester City and play for a team like that without making runs like this, scoring goals like this.
“Fantastic player, he’s getting the confidence now and able to make runs here. You know when you get in some positions like this, inevitably he would score. He’s got this left foot and he’s got Jamie Vardy up-front with him now who is actually assisting him as well which is making him happy.”
