Cottee: Why Iheanacho was outstanding for Leicester City

Tony Cottee has stated the reasons behind Kelechi Iheanacho’s impressive goalscoring exploits for Leicester City during the 2020-21 campaign.

Before heading into 2021, the former Manchester City wonderkid could only boast two Premier League games, without finding the net, as he played second fiddle in the Foxes’ squad.

Nevertheless, a change of fortune saw him revive his scoring form which proved pivotal in the King Power Stadium outfit’s FA Cup triumph.

Also, that form earned him the Premier League Player of the Month award for March, while he edged Jamie Vardy to the club’s top scorer prize.

Giving an assessment on the Nigerian’s performances, Cottee – who starred for the East Midlands-based outfit between 1997-2000 – claimed his manager’s switch of formation, which gave room for two strikers, was key in his goalscoring exploits.

“The goals were flying in and his confidence was sky-high,” Cottee told the Leicester City website.

“I felt he formed a really good partnership with Jamie as well. As an ex-Leicester player and ex-centre-forward myself, I love it when teams play two upfront because I just think it gives you so many more options. It brings so much more to the team.

“He was outstanding, especially in March. I remember the hat-trick he scored and there were some absolutely fantastic goals. We’ve always known he’s a fantastic finisher, that’s never been in doubt.”

“As a manager, you scratch your head at times. If you go through a difficult patch, you look and search for other ideas,” he continued.

“That’s something that I admire about Brendan – his ability to identify when you need to make a change, and also to be brave enough to do it.

“I had it myself consistently throughout my career where managers have told me that they know I can score goals. Martin O’Neill said it to me at Leicester, but it’s about bringing the other side to your game as well.

“You’ve got to work hard for the team and that’s not always easy as a centre-forward because I think, by nature, if you’re a goalscorer, you’re almost in ‘selfish mode’ because your focus and your aim is to score goals.

“I think Kelechi got everything right in the games that I saw. Every aspect of his game, he was playing as good as he’s ever played in his career.”