Kelechi Iheanacho’s performance against Peterborough gives a glimpse into what he can do for the club

Kelechi Iheanacho starred in what was an excellent performance by him and Leicester City on Saturday, as they defeated Peterborough United 1-5 in the FA Cup fourth round.

Claude Puel’s team selection inspired the buoyant Foxes from the off. Kelechi Iheanacho took up the role as sole striker in the 4-2-3-1 formation, and the former Manchester City man thrived in the shape.

Confidence key for Iheanacho

As soon as he got those first few touches in early on, Iheanacho’s confidence rose & rose and he then really started to make his mark on the game. His two goals showed exactly what he can do.

New signing Fousseni Diabaté opened the scoring for the Foxes in the 9th minute, but Kelechi Iheanacho’s two goals which followed ensured Leicester went in 0-3 to the good at half time.

Iheanacho’s first goal displayed his growing confidence into the game. Instead of laying the ball off to Harvey Barnes who was in plenty of space to convert for 0-2, Iheanacho took the shot on himself, slotting right into the corner with excellent accuracy.

His second goal came as part of the Foxes’ brilliant third, Christian Fuchs’ delicious cross landed perfectly in the path of Iheanacho to slot home. The run Kelechi made to get on the end of the cross was equally as pleasing, and another sign of his confidence.

Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images

It wasn’t just his goals which impressed - Iheanacho’s overall performance was superb. He was making the right sort of runs all match, closing the opposition down, holding the ball up with magnificent close control, linking up play and being a real threat.

The club were right to stand firm on keeping Iheanacho this January - and Saturday’s performance was a sign of things to come

Kelechi Iheanacho’s time at Leicester City so far hasn’t been easy, unable to get a regular run in the starting eleven. Jamie Vardy is of course, always going to be first choice for Claude Puel.

But what has been really pleasing for me is the club coming out with their stance on 21 year old Iheanacho. There was talk of clubs in the Premier League and abroad being interested in Iheanacho, but it was made clear earlier this month he is seen as a long term signing at Leicester City.

And selling Kelechi Iheanacho wouldn’t have been the right decision in my eyes. Saturday was a glimpse of what could come and personally, I believe Iheanacho has the ability to be a goalscorer for the Foxes.

In his mostly sub appearances since joining the club, Iheanacho has looked somewhat low on confidence, but this game would’ve been great for him. Moving forward, if he can build on that Peterborough performance, and transfer his FA Cup form into the Premier League, Iheanacho will become a really valuable option.