Ex-West Ham and England star praises Iheanacho for his performance against the Eagles

The 25-year-old striker started his first league game of the season last Sunday, and he marked it with a well-taken goal

Former West Ham star Tony Cottee has praised Kelechi Iheanacho’s finishing qualities after he scored in the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace.

Iheanacho celebrated his 25th birthday with the opening goal in Leicester City’s Premier League clash against the Eagles last Sunday.

The Super Eagles star, who made his first league start in the game, dispossessed Joachim Andersen off the ball to slot past Vicente Guaita in Crystal Palace’s goal.

Although it looked like an easy finish as he was through one one-on-one with the keeper, ex-England international Cottee praised Iheanacho for his composed finish.

“The one thing that was absolutely certain once he got the ball, and went one-on-one with the goalkeeper, was that the ball was going in the back of the net,” Cottee told LCFC TV. 

“You can’t stress how hard it is to make it look so easy. You see so many players go through, and you get so frustrated. They are rabbits in the headlights.

“They don’t know what to do. By that time, you’re either tackled, the goalkeeper smothers it, or you make the wrong decision,” the former Foxes star said.

“With Kelechi, you’ve got that class. If you watch the slow-motion, you’ll see him take just a little glance up. His head goes up, ‘where’s the goal?’. What am I going to do?’ and he just made it look so easy.”

“That’s the biggest compliment I can pay him. If you can just stroke and side-foot the ball past the goalkeeper, you’re doing something right, and it shows you’ve got a special talent.”

“So let’s give him praise for two things: the closing down and then the quality of the finish,” Cottee added.

Iheanacho is currently on international duty with the Super Eagles, but he faces a race against time to be fit for Leicester City’s clash against Manchester United after he picked up an injury in the World Cup qualifier against Cape Verde.