When Kelechi Iheanacho scored Manchester City's second goal in a 2-1 win over Manchester United in September, it should have marked the forward's arrival as a key member of Pep Guardiola's squad. But it didn't.

The Nigerian followed that goal up with strikes in his next two games. He netted against Borussia Mönchengladbach in a 4-0 Champions League rout and was on target in another 4-0 demolition, this time against Bournemouth.

But he scored just five goals during the rest of what turned out to be a disappointing campaign.

Iheanacho is now set to sign for Leicester City in a deal worth £25million having rejected moves to West Ham United and Monaco.

“Monaco were ready to bid 35 million pounds for Iheanacho, they were in talks with his agent,” an intermediary told website AllNigeriaSoccer.

“He was offered a four-year contract and would have been paid £4.4million per season wages if he agreed the move.

“He is joining Leicester City, the club are delaying the announcement because of a dispute with his former agent.

“He was interested in moving to Monaco but said it can only be possible when he gets his British passport.”



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We take a look at what went wrong for the striker at the Etihad and how he fell behind Marcus Rashford as the most exciting forward in Manchester in the space of 12 months.

Increased competition

It is no coincidence Iheanacho's first-team involvement decreased following the arrival of Gabriel Jesus from Palmeiras in January.

The Brazilian forward moved to the Etihad at the start of the year and, despite a period on the sidelines with injury, finished the season with seven goals and four assists in eight starts.

Iheanacho is only seven months younger than Jesus but, at £27million, he was always going to play second fiddle to the new man. Not that he, initially, minded too much.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Iheanacho said: “I cannot pretend that I don't hear what people back home [in Nigeria] say about my lack of regular football but I will continue to fight.

“I don't worry about those comments. All I need to do is to keep working, keep doing well and keep improving every day.

“Sergio Agüero and Gabriel [Jesus] are really really great players that we need in our team. As a young player, I'm happy playing alongside these fantastic players because I learn and get better every day.”

However, fast forward three months and the fact Iheanacho is ready to quit the Etihad speaks volumes. He wants to be playing first-team football and will go somewhere else to find it if required.

Pep's demands

It is well known Guardiola has certain expectations and demands of his players that other – less meticulous and principled – coaches might not hold.

You only need look at the way Zlatan Ibrahimović was bombed out of Barcelona after a single season — a campaign in which he scored 16 La Liga goals in just 23 starts for the Blaugrana.

Even the future of star striker Agüero was called into question midway through last season, with the Argentine finding himself benched on several occasions despite being fully fit.

The former Atlético Madrid hitman has 122 Premier League goals in 181 games for the Citizens but even that strike-rate wasn't enough to guarantee the 29-year-old a starting berth.

To that end, perhaps it is unsurprising Iheanacho was not afforded the same amount of action that he was by Manuel Pellegrini the previous season.

A certain amount of assimilation with the Spaniard's tactics is needed in order to entrust a player with a starting berth.

That was underlined by the way £37million summer signing Leroy Sané was in and out of the starting XI before Christmas. But he established himself as a regular in the second half of the campaign and earned a nomination for the PFA Young Player of the Season award.

If the first few months following Jesus' arrival are anything to go by then the Brazilian is Guardiola's first choice to lead the line.

With Agüero as an alternative, unless the Catalan plays two strikers, there is not much room for a third-choice option of Iheanacho's calibre behind the South American pair – particularly if City's number 72 has ambitions of growing as a player.

Guardiola is also keen to add Alexis Sanchéz to his attacking arsenal. So when a player of Agüero's quality may not even be second choice in attack it makes sense for Iheanacho to look elsewhere for first-team football.

A move to the King Power will give him the platform to grow as a player and it's a deal which suits all parties.

Man City keep can keep a close eye on the striker and bring him back if he develops as they expect without strengthening a rival. The Foxes have their replacement for the 30-year-old Jamie Vardy and Iheanacho gets regular action.

He will also have a point to prove and Leicester will benefit from his goals, which could fire Craig Shakespeare's men back into Europe

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