It’s been incredibly sad watching the decline of former Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho over the past few years.
Iheanacho joined Sevilla upon the expiry of his Leicester City contract in the summer, but after just five starts, he was snapped up on loan by Middlesbrough in January.
The Championship side were initially excited about the signing, seeing it as a huge coup for the division however, it hasn’t been the greatest start for the Nigerian.
Middlesbrough fans slammed Iheanacho on his debut, with some labelling him as ‘lazy’ while also failing to score in his first seven games for the club.
That was until he bagged just after half-time to get his side back on level terms against Oxford United, leaving Boro fans red-faced in the process.
Middlesbrough fans wanted Kelechi Iheanacho subbed at half-time vs Oxford
It’s been a terrible start to life at the Riverside Stadium for the former FA Cup winner at Leicester, with most Boro fans left unimpressed by his all-round game.
Iheanacho’s touch, movement and work rate have all been criticised since he joined the club, and that continued to be the case against Oxford.
Before he opened the scoring, supporters demanded him to be substituted at half-time by Michael Carrick, with those words instantly coming back to bite them.
“If Iheanacho comes out in the 2nd half I’m off home. No way I can sit and watch him miscontrol the ball for another 45 mins,” one fan wrote.
“McGree on for Iheanacho,” another fan demanded while a third said: “Iheanacho moves like he has just had Christmas dinner oh my days.”
“Honestly tempted to leave if Iheanacho comes back out for the second half,” a fifth angrily said while another commented: “Get Iheanacho off the pitch.”
“Iheanacho is not a footballer. Half time substitutions are desperately needed,” a seventh hilariously claimed.
Iheanacho immediately proved the doubters wrong with a goal but his statistics and all-round performance suggest those supporters had every right to question him.
Iheanacho’s stats vs Oxford
Middlesbrough picked up a priceless three points in the end, with Neto Borges scoring an 80th-minute winner to move his side to within one point of the top six.
It’s been a late surge up the table for Carrick’s side, who were nowhere near the play-off picture in January, but a run of four wins in their last six matches has helped them climb the table.
Boro will hope the goal scored by Iheanacho will inspire him to end the campaign with a flurry, as they’ll need every point they can get.
The 28-year-old played 80 minutes of the contest against Oxford and produced some decent metrics in the game, although his effort, first touch and link-up play can all improve.
Kelechi Iheanacho’s stats vs Oxford
- 80 minutes played
- 24/30 accurate passes (80%)
- 2 key passes
- 3 shots blocked
- 1/4 ground duels won
- 11 times possession lost
- 0 successful dribbles