Recent reports have suggested that Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheancho is soon to be the target of an huge £25 million bid from Leicester City in an attempt to lure him away from the Etihad Stadium this summer.
The Nigerian striker had previously established himself as the regular understudy to Sergio Aguero in the 15/16 campaign, but has since struggled following the arrival of Pep Guardiola and perhaps more importantly, Gabriel Jesus, making only 8 starts in all competitions this season.
Despite the 20-year-old’s lack in involvement however, he still managed to find the net an impressive 7 times. In the season previous, he had the best goals/minute ratio of any striker in Europe’s top five leagues as he netted 14 times in just over 30 appearances, many of them again from the bench. That is right, Iheanacho was a more clinical goalscorer than Luis Suarez. More so than Cristiano Ronaldo. Even more so than Lionel Messi. It was incredible feat. that saw him explode onto the scene as one of Europe’s hottest young talents.
The boy has ability, and he sure knows where the net is, there is no denying it. But is he the right fit for West Ham?
Iheanacho is a poacher, a good old fashioned ‘fox in the box’ who knows exactly where to be and when in order to get his name on the scoresheet. That fact is clear to see when you analyse the goals he has scored in a City shirt.
Of the 7 he bagged this season, all of them were inside the box, and 6 of them were either inside or on the very edge of the six-yard-box. All coincidently were scored with his left foot too. Of his 8 scored in the Premier League in the season previous, the same pattern emerges, with the City starlet scoring all of those from inside the box, and 6/8 strikes coming within 10-yards and 5/8 being with his left foot. His two strikes in the Champions League in 15/16 were also both in the box, both before the penalty spot and both with his left foot.
Iheanacho’s goalscoring record for Nigeria is just as impressive, with the striker having scored 6 times in 9 international appearances for the Super Eagles. Again however, a modus operandi is clear. 4/6 of the striker’s goals have been in the penalty box with his left foot. The other 2 were more unusual speculative efforts from outside the box, one with each foot, which he is perhaps given more licence to try on international duty. They however, remain anomalies.
If you are looking for man who is deadly in the box, perhaps relying on good service to feet from wide areas, then Iheanacho is almost certainly your man, but it is no secret that is not what you would call the ‘West Ham way’.
While the Hammers certainly don’t ‘like it or lump it’ into the opposition box as they perhaps once were guilty of anymore, there can no argument that the club generally operate with either a target man, with a proven ability in the air. Andy Carroll, Simeone Zaza, Nikica Jelavic, Diafra Sakho, Carlton Cole, John Carew and Demba Ba are just a few of a huge 31 long list of the club’s strikers of the past 7 years, and all are big, strong forwards. Iheanacho is no pushover at 6″1, but he doesn’t have the physical presence, especially aerially as the aforementioned frontmen.
Were any of the hallowed 31 successful? By any stretch of the imagination, no. For the most part anyway. Only Carroll, Ba and Sakho can stake a claim to be excluded from that generalisation of failure.
Those shortcomings however don’t mean Iheanacho is the man to solve the problem. If you look at the calibre of West Ham’s goals last season in the Premier League from there four top scorers – those being Michail Antonio, Manuel Lanzini, Andy Carroll and Andre Ayew – a third of them were scored from beyond the 10-yard mark. Of the remaining two thirds scored in front of the penalty spot, over half of them were scored with headers.
Unless the Slaven Bilic changes the way his side play entirely, Iheanacho is not the man who should be leading the line for the Hammers next season.
The Nigerian relies upon service into the six-yard box at his feet, and importantly his feet only, which is the reason he has shone in a Manchester City shirt. A poacher like himself will of course thrive with like the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Leroy Sane serving him up chances on a plate, but West Ham as they currently are – as much as we may like to think we can – simply can’t.
The Hammers aren’t play the Guardiola-esque brand of football that suits striker of his nature. We play our own way, and unfortunately not a way that always wins. But is a brand of football the club is, or should at least be, proud of. Strong, passionate and perhaps a little unflattering at times, it is the West Ham way, but it is not the Iheanacho way.
Would I like to see him at the London Stadium? Yes. Is he a brilliant goalscorer? Yes. Would he score goals in a Claret and Blue shirt? Yes.
Is he the man for the job? You know the answer.
