Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl is wary of the threat posed by Kelechi Iheanacho and has revealed his plans to cage the rampaging Nigerian Friday night at St Mary’s stadium.
The striker continued his rich vein of goal scoring form with a sensational strike in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, taking his Foxes tally for the season to 17 goals, including five in his last four games.
Iheanacho will hope to close in on the 20-goal mark when City visit the Saints in the Premier League on Friday.
Asked how he planned to contain the Nigerian, Hasenhuttl said: “He [Iheanacho] did a good job in the last game, he has one chance and his chance was a goal so the rest of the game I didn’t see him to be honest.
Meanwhile, Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers hailed the Nigerian’s mental strength after the striker’s scintillating form.
Iheanacho has scored 14 goals in his last 14 games ahead of Friday’s Premier League trip to Southampton.
He had not struck in the league before February and had previously gone a year, between September 2018 and September 2019, without a goal.
Iheanacho has been forced to play second fiddle to Jamie Vardy since arriving for £25million from Manchester City in 2017 but has now netted more, 17, than Vardy – who has top scored for Leicester every season since 2015-16.
Rodgers said: “Kelechi is a talent, we mustn’t forget that. He’s a big talent and came here for a large price-tag – and maybe just didn’t have quite the opportunities. That’s natural when you have one of Europe’s top strikers in front of him.
“It’s difficult, especially if you don’t play that system, but you have to tip your hat to his mental toughness. That’s one of the things that’s right up the top for me in an ideal footballer.
“He’s shown that mental toughness, he’s gone through spells, Even before I came here, they were moans and groans when he came onto the pitch. But I don’t think there’s any now when you look at what he’s producing and delivering.
“That’s a huge testament to Kelechi’s mentality. It’s not surprising because he is a really talented player. What’s great is that he’s taken the opportunity.
“And he’s flourished with it, it was about keeping his belief and his confidence.”
Iheanacho’s late winner in Monday’s 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace meant third-placed Leicester need three wins from their final five games to guarantee a top-four spot.
The 24-year-old had also started just two top-flight games this season before his scoring streak began against Fulham in February but Rodgers insisted Iheanacho was always a valued member of his squad.
He said: “That’s the key thing with players who are outside of the starting XI and not playing, as a manager you have to recognise and acknowledge their importance. Everybody will shine a torch on the guys who are playing.
“It wasn’t that Kelechi wasn’t in my plans, we were playing a different system, but he was always very important to my squad.
“I’m also the type of coach who doesn’t necessarily think too much about what I don’t have, I work with what I’ve got.
“Sometimes you can think ‘I want this and I need that’ – and you also want to improve. But it’s also about looking at the assets that you do have and maximising what they can give the squad.”
“You must be always careful, don’t give him the chance in and around the box, he has a very good finish, self-confident at the moment.
“Premier League teams have strikers that are strong and that can hurt you.”
Iheanacho has featured nine times against Southampton in all competitions with seven coming in the Premier League. He has scored four times with three of the goals also coming in the Premier League.
If he plays Friday night, it will be his 10th and make the Saints the second Premier League team the Nigerian has competed most against after Crystal Palace. A goal will also make the Saints the Premier League team he has scored most against in the competition.