#RUSSIA2018: Hard Facts You Don’t Know About Kelechi Iheanancho
One of the footballers who will certainly make a mark in Russia is Kelechi Iheanacho, as his name implies in Igbo Language, Iheanancho (What the people are looking for) The Leicester city striker is one striker people will be looking out for in Russia.
The Former Manchester City striker who can play as the point man, and also as a supporting point man will play a pivotal role in Nigeria’s attack line in Russia. With the likes of Ighalo, Moses, and Iwobi, the attack line will need a creative Iheanancho to complement the pace of Moses and finally feed the goal hungry Ighalo at all times.
Below are some hard facts you don’t know about Iheanacho
- Kelechi Iheanacho was born in Imo state. As a youth, he started his career at Taye Academy in Owerri, the capital city of Imo. His performances for Nigeria in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup led to interest from clubs in Europe; teams following his progress included Arsenal, Sporting Clube de Portugal and Porto.
In December 2012, Iheanacho travelled to England to discuss a move to Manchester City. He signed a pre-contract agreement with the club, stating his intent to formally sign for City on his 18th birthday in October 2014. After which he returned to Nigeria. Around the tail end of the season, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) named him the Most Promising Talent of the Year for 2013 at the CAF Awards
2. He joined Manchester City’s Academy on the 10th of January 2014. Before the 2014–15 season, City visited the United States on a pre-season tour, and although still not formally a City player, he joined up with the squad. He played and scored in the first match of the tour, a 4–1 win against Sporting Kansas City, and scored again against Milan in a 5–1 win. After the conclusion of the tour, Manchester City arranged for Iheanacho to train with the Columbus Crew until mid-October.
Delays in obtaining a work permit prevented Iheanacho from playing in England until February 2015. He made his debut at under-19 level in a UEFA Youth League match against Schalke 04, but sustained an injury after only 11 minutes. After his recovery, he began to represent Manchester City at both youth and under-21 level in the latter part of the season. He played in the FA Youth Cup final, where he scored, but ended on the losing side after Chelsea claimed a 5–2 aggregate victory. The following week, he scored the only goal as Manchester City beat Porto in the final of the 2014–15 Premier League International Cup.
- Iheanacho has featured for Nigeria at youth levels since his under-13 days. His first experience of a major international tournament was the 2013 African U-17 Championship in Morocco. For Iheanacho, the highlight was a hat-trick in a win against Botswana. He dedicated his goals to his mother, who died two months before the tournament. Nigeria reached the final of the competition, where they were defeated on penalties by the Ivory Coast.
Iheanacho played a significant role in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he won the Golden Ball award for player of the Iheanacho. Nigeria won the competition, in which Iheanacho scored six times, including once in the final, and provided seven assists. In the run-up to the 2014 African Nations Championship, Iheanacho trained with the senior Nigeria squad but was released from the squad in order to travel to England to sign with Manchester City. He was part of the Nigeria squad for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand and featured in two matches.
He was selected by in the 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics but failed to make the final 18. He is currently on the 23-man squad list for the World cup tournament in Russia.
ALSO READ:
