Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search

Iheanacho vs Vardy and other Leicester strikers

By Solomon Fowowe
04 August 2017   |   3:45 pm
Leicester announced yesterday that they had completed the signing of Nigeria International, Kelechi Iheanacho in a £25 million move from Manchester City. The 20-year old left the Etihad after finding first team chances hard to come by. In need of consistent playing to time to further his development and continue on the path to fulfilling…

Leicester announced yesterday that they had completed the signing of Nigeria International, Kelechi Iheanacho in a £25 million move from Manchester City.

The 20-year old left the Etihad after finding first team chances hard to come by. In need of consistent playing to time to further his development and continue on the path to fulfilling his potential, the amount shelled out by Leicester for him, point that the forward will be getting more than a few look-ins and may establish himself as a regular feature in Craig Shakespeare’s team.

We compare the forward with the other striking options present at Leicester City assessing his chances.

Iheanacho vs Vardy
Doubtless, Vardy will lead the line for the Foxes in the coming season. The England International was talismanic in Leicester City’s league triumph with his 24 goals propelling the side to the title two seasons ago. He still notched 13 goals, a decent return in Leicester’s poor title defence compared to the four goals from the Nigerian scored for the Citizens. Iheanacho’s 64% shot accuracy is slightly ahead of Vardy’s 62% and it takes 44 minutes for the 20-year-old to have contributed to a goal i.e score himself or assist, while it takes 156 minutes to contribute to Leicester’s goals.

A partnership of the duo up front seems most likely as Leicester featured the 4-4-2 formation for 31 times last season.

Iheanacho vs Slimani
Leicester City would have been disappointed with the performance of Islam Slimani last season. The Algerian was made the record signing when he was brought in from Sporting Lisbon last season. The striker scored seven goals from his 23 appearances last season in which five of them were headed goals. The 29-year old is dominant in the air. He won 38.28% of his aerial duel last season as against Iheanacho’s 13.79%. Leicester’s latest signing is better suited to Leicester City’s style as he is faster and more dynamic, his 57.14% successful take-ons trumps Slimani’s 50%.

According to reports, Slimani could be on his way out of the King Power as he is linked with a return to Sporting Lisbon.

Iheanacho vs Okazaki
Okazaki featured 30 times for Leicester City as part of a strike duo or playing behind Vardy. The Japanese has a remarkable work ethic but is a little deficient of productivity. His three goal and one assist from 1565 minutes played in the Premier League falls terribly short off Iheanacho’s four goals and three assists in just 563 minutes.

Iheanacho’s 0.7 key passes per game compared to Okazaki’s 0.5 suggests the Nigerian is more creative with the ball, than his new teammate.

0 Comments