Is it Kelechi’s time to shine?

With Aguero’s constant injuries and Bony’s less than stellar form, many Manchester City fans have been pushing strongly for Kelechi Iheanacho to play a bigger role in the club. With his recent spectacular performances in the limited playing time that he has, many fans believe it is time for Iheanacho to replace Bony as the second choice striker.

The club does look like it is slowly entrusting Iheanacho. He was included in the Champions League squad over Samir Nasri, although that is probably due to Nasri’s injury. Iheanacho is slowly getting more and more playing time, although Bony is still probably the “first choice” backup after Aguero. Iheanacho is slowly being pushed into a bigger and bigger role after recent good performances such as the hat trick against Aston Villa. However, some fans do believe that he deserves more, that he should be the first guy off the bench when Aguero isn’t available. I agree, it is time to give Iheanacho his chance, its a risk the club should be taking.

On one hand, Bony is “proven” to be able to succeed at the premier league level, but he isn’t exactly spectacular. He is one of the few men who have proven himself to be a good Premier League level striker with 25 goals at Swansea in the league, approximately 151 minutes per goal. We know that his form hasn’t been as good as it was back at Swansea, with only 4 goals in the league (6 including Champions League), at 207 minutes per goal on average (184 minutes per goal including champions league). Bony was a top Premier League striker last season, and it isn’t a stretch to suggest that he can regain some of that form that earned him a £28 million move to Manchester City.

We know Bony is capable of being a consistently good striker at the Premier Level. When he was with Swansea City, Bony was one of the most prolific and reliable strikers in the league, he’d score one approximately every two games, not as good as Aguero or Suarez, but he does make a very damned good big man up front who can provide a consistent threat with the ball and in the air.
However, it could be argued that with the current Manchester City system, Bony has essentially hit his peak. He’s a good striker, but even if he hits the form he had back at Swansea, I doubt he will be challenging for a starting spot against Aguero.

Kelechi Iheanacho on the other hand, has looked like a proper superstar in the limited time he has played. He’s looked extremely lethal, and I know it is a small sample size, but so far Iheanacho has been extremely prolific, scoring 8 goals already in the Premier League, FA Cup, and Capital One Cup. Again, the sample size is tiny, but from what we see, it is good. Iheanacho looks

comfortable on the ball, and he has the skills with the physical tools to succeed.
I am not expecting Iheanacho to keep up this great run in scoring at all, but at this stage of his career, Iheanacho is still a young prospect. He has loads of potential with a big future in front of him. In the limited time he has had, Kelechi looks like a million bucks, and he has potential to become even better.

Between Iheanacho and Bony, I believe that we should play the young prospect. There is a good chance that we will never see Bony improve anymore, whereas I am pretty confident Iheanacho still has plenty of potential. Give Iheanacho Bony’s spot as the second choice, Kelechi has earned the shot, and if the scouts are right, he will grow into a world class striker one day.

Iheanacho deserves the shot, and Manchester City should give him this opportunity. Aguero is still first choice, but Iheanacho should be the first second option when it is needed. He is still very young and raw however, so keep him on a very, very short leash, and Bony still has a very important role to play when an alternative attacking style is needed since he brings another dimension to the game that both Aguero and Iheanacho doesn’t.

For years, people have accused Manchester City of overlooking youth players. Well now the club has a great prospect in Iheanacho. So far, he has shown that yes, he can score against Premier League teams, so it’s time to pull the trigger, give him the ball and see what he can do! Just because Bony costed a lot doesn’t mean he deserves his spot.