Transfer insider Dean Jones has warned promotion chasing English Championship side Leicester City against offering fresh terms to Nigeria international striker Kelechi Iheanacho, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
The 27 year old is out of contract in the summer and has struggled to get a look in at the club since returning from international duty with Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations, where they finished second after losing 1-2 to the host Cote d’Ivoire in the final.
Iheanacho who has contributed six goals in three assists from ten starts this season has played a total of 44 minutes spread over three games since the turn of the year. He hasn’t made the matchday squad for the last three consecutive games.
Speaking on the future of the Nigerian at the King Power Stadium, Jones said it makes no sense for him to be offered a new deal owing to how he has struggled to get a look in at the crucial stage of the season. He feels handing him an extension on his £80,000 a week deal will amount to a waste of scarce funds for a team that is set for an instant return to the English Premier League.
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Jones made his opinion known while analyzing transfers on TalkSport, he said Iheanacho’s likely next port of call will be Turkey where top division league side Trabzonspor are pushing for his signing on a free.
“It looks like he will leave Leicester, and at the moment, the most likely path for him to take is to Turkey. Trabzonspor are one of the teams for him, and these sorts of options might have to become very real, even though it seems to be early in his career. Iheanacho broke through at the same time as Marcus Rashford, and the pair were compared when he was at City, but slowly, his form and impact have just waned. From a Leicester point of view, keeping him doesn’t seem a wise move as he is one of the higher earners in that side, and he has only started ten games in a season when they are going for a Championship promotion.”
