KEL’S HERE FOR KEEPS

WHY IHEANACHO HAS NOTHING TO FEAR IF CITY BUY NEW STRIKER

LEICESTER City’s summer pursuit of a new striker will not see in-form Kelechi Iheanacho pushed towards the exit, writes Jordan Blackwell.

City boss Brendan Rodgers has expressed his desire to bring in an alternative for Jamie Vardy as the club’s talisman heads towards the latter stages of his career, with Celtic forward Odsonne Edouard one of the players in consideration.

But while Vardy still has plenty to offer, as Rodgers believes the 34-year-old does, he is going nowhere.

And the arrival of a new striker would not affect Iheanacho’s position at the club either, Rodgers has said.

Although he did not add to his goal tally on international duty with Nigeria – despite starting both of their Africa Cup of Nations games, against Benin and, on Tuesday evening, against Lesotho – Iheanacho will be high on confidence heading to his former club Manchester City this weekend after seven goals in four games for Leicester, a streak that has earned him a Premier League player of the month nomination.

Although he only has just over a year left on his contract, Iheanacho will not be making way for a new arrival. Rather, he could be playing alongside them, having shown his quality in working in tandem with Vardy.

“It’s not about being the main guy, we’ll always need another striker,” Rodgers said. “When players get older, it’s not so much their age, it’s about how they’re performing that dictates how often they’re going to play.

“I know with Jamie where he’s at, I know his level, I know he’s still got his speed, still got his hunger.

Moving forward, with Kels there, he’s doing a very good job, but we may need another one, so we can go with two strikers. At this moment in time, and going forward, he’s important for us.”

Iheanacho’s recent hot streak means he is up to 12 goals for the campaign, only two behind Vardy.

“His finishing has been great,” Rodgers added. “He’s playing at a high level. He’s just needed games. He’s just been unfortunate because of the structure of the team, with us normally playing with Jamie and two wingers. He would only come into the game if we changed the system or if Jamie was injured.

“The two combine really well and he’s playing at a really high level.”