Kelechi isn’t the problem – Ex-Super Eagles star hits back at Orta’s “mistake” comments about Iheanacho

Former Stoke City and Super Eagles midfielder, Oluwaseyi George Olofinjana, has backed Middlesbrough forward, Kelechi Promise Iheanacho, to hit top form following his poor Sevilla spell, Socccernet.ng reports.

The former Manchester City man joined Sevilla on a free deal from Leicester City last summer, but Iheanacho’s first six months in Spain didn’t go as planned, as he was without a league goal.

As a result, the 28-year-old joined Middlesbrough on a six-month loan in a bid to put his career back on track. However, Sevilla’s Sporting Director, Victor Orta, has come out to admit he made a mistake by signing the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup winner.

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“I want to clarify that the first two strikers were brought in as complements, to be practically the third striker, because there was a starter like Youssef and a striker who later appeared, like Isaac, but it’s clear that betting on Kelechi this season has been a mistake, and we will analyze why we made it—and we are doing so now,” Orta said as previiously reported by Soccernet.ng.

Olofinjana has jumped to Iheanacho’s defence, revealing the Nigerian striker didn’t have an environment for success in Seville.

“I don’t think it’s a Kelechi problem. The real question is whether the club did enough to help him settle and create an environment where he could succeed.

“If Kelechi is given the chance to speak, I’m sure he would have his own perspective on how things unfolded. You can’t simply come out with that kind of statement,” Olofinjana said in an interview with Brila, replying to Victor Orta’s comments.

“There’s still a lot more to his game than we’ve seen. I believe he can bounce back and take his career to greater heights,” the former Hull City midfielder concluded.

Meanwhile, Iheanacho is enjoying his loan spell with Middlesbrough. The Nigerian has scored one goal and provided two assists in his last three starts for Michael Carrick’s side.