Is Iheanacho the answer?

Kelechi Iheanacho took his tally for the season into double figures with a brace in Manchester City’s 4-0 win over Stoke on Saturday. Adam Bate examines the youngster’s breakthrough season and why there’s so much more to come…

In the language of the Igbo people of southern Nigeria, Iheanacho has a meaning – ‘what we are looking for’ or ‘that thing we seek’. Maybe that’s how Kelechi Iheanacho’s breakthrough feels for Manchester City and their fans. Not only does the 19-year-old freshen up an ageing squad but he’s become the back-up option Wilfried Bony was supposed to be.

Not that Iheanacho sees it as a competition. He describes Bony as his “big brother”. But the comparison doesn’t reflect well on the man signed for £25m just last year. Despite receiving more than twice as many starts as the teenager this season, Bony is now being outscored in the league and the cups. Two goals against Stoke took Iheanacho’s total to 11.

Both were expertly taken. For the first, he was savvy enough to check his run in order to find space and finish neatly. For the second, he burst away from three opponents before calmly rounding goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard. “Look how effortlessly he moves,” enthused Jamie Redknapp in the Sky Sports studio. “He’s a natural born finisher.”

Even before his goals, Iheanacho had helped earn his side a penalty and was rewarded with the man-of-the-match award. It’s the first time he’s been preferred to a fit Bony in a Premier League …

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