Shropshire Star

Leicester capture Kelechi Iheanacho from Manchester City

The Nigeria forward has signed a five-year contract.

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Leicester have completed the signing of Kelechi Iheanacho from Manchester City for an undisclosed fee.

The 20-year-old striker put pen to paper on a five-year contract on Thursday, having undergone a medical at the club’s training ground earlier in the week.

The deal represents quite a coup for new manager Craig Shakespeare and Iheanacho, who was also a reported target for West Ham earlier this summer, could make his Leicester debut in Friday’s friendly against Borussia Monchengladbach at the King Power Stadium.

Iheanacho told to LCFC TV: “It feels good and I’m happy to be part of this team. I know the ambition of the team and speaking with the manager, he let me know what I need to do – to help the team achieve what they want. I was convinced and I’m happy to be here.”

He becomes the fourth new arrival at Leicester during the close season following the acquisitions of midfielder Vicente Iborra, goalkeeper Eldin Jakupovic and defender Harry Maguire.

Iheanacho will wear the number eight shirt and joins fellow Nigeria internationals Wilfred Ndidi and Ahmed Musa at the 2016 Premier League champions.

Leicester boss Shakespeare said: “It’s a great signing for us. Kelechi is an enormously talented player that has shown a huge amount of promise at every level in which he’s played.

“We’ve tracked his progress for some time, so we know how much quality he’ll bring to the squad. He’s young, he’s hungry, he’s ready for the next stage of his development and I’m delighted that will be with Leicester City.”

Iheanacho signed a new contract with City until 2021 at the beginning of last season but saw his first-team opportunities at the Etihad curtailed by the arrival of Brazil forward Gabriel Jesus in January.

The academy product still made nine starts and 21 substitute appearances for Pep Guardiola’s team last term, scoring nine goals, but he has now decided on a fresh start.

In total he scored 21 goals in 64 games in all competitions since making his debut for City in 2015, while he has scored six goals in 10 appearances for Nigeria.

City said in a statement: “Everyone at Manchester City wishes Kelechi all the best with his new challenge.”

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