KELECHI IHEANACHO WAS A VICTIM OF PEP GUARDIOLA…NOTHING MORE

Was the wonderkid unfairly treated at Manchester City, or was it just the wrong fit for player, club...and coach?

“Kelechi is just 17 years old and he’s a very important player for us in the future… I think he is a good talent.”

Those were Manuel Pellegrini’s words after Kelechi Iheanacho's impressive goalscoring debut for Manchester City in their preseason win over Sporting Kansas City in 2014.

The highly rated hotshot was subsequently integrated into the Citizens’ squad during the latter years of the Chilean’s tenure. The former Malaga and Real Madrid coach thought so highly of the forward’s potential that he placed him above Wilfred Bony in the pecking order for the 2015/2016 season—the attacker’s breakthrough year—where he found the back of the net on 14 occasions in all competitions.

However, everyone had it all wrong, and the forward’s distress—and subsequent stagnation in the Spaniard’s inaugural season—was somewhat heartbreaking.

A plethora of observers chipped in with their opinions regarding the 2016 Uefa Golden Boy nominee’s struggle last season, with views ranging from favouritism to even racial discrimination

Many may beg to differ, but the terse fact is the poacher just wasn’t the kind of player the manager desired.

In truth, Guardiola’s arrival at the Etihad ought to have sent alarm bells ringing with regards to Iheanacho’s future.

Throughout his managerial career, Pep’s desire for perfection has led to him chopping and changing until he gets players who fit into his style of play.

While most managers adapt to the players at their disposal, the Spaniard sticks staunchly to his philosophy and is not shy of jettisoning players who don’t suit his tactical needs, irrespective of ability or prior performances.

Kelechi was just a casualty of Pep’s needs. It’s a situation that played out at Barcelona with Samuel Eto’o and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who were both shown the door despite their quality.

After choosing to utilize the fast, mobile and incisive Eto’o in his first year at Barcelona, he discarded the Cameroonian in his second year, opting for the target man option in Ibrahimovic, but that was also abandoned after a year.

Guardiola finally settled on Messi as a ‘false nine’, with the attacker dropping deep and leaving the centre-backs with no one to contain.