Iheanacho: Struggling to live up to his billing

Isaac Success was Nigeria’s star man when the Golden Eaglets arrived in  the United Arab Emirates for the 2013 FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

Prior to the trip to the UAE, Nigeria had won the title thrice — 1985, 1993, 2007 — and Success was the striker the Eaglets were relying on to win their fourth title.

But Kelechi Iheanacho, who played as a  support striker during the qualifiers, snatched the spotlight from Success when Nigeria opened their campaign  with a 6-1 defeat of Mexico at the Bin Zayed Stadium.

Iheanacho scored four goals in the encounter with Chidiebere Nwakali and Success scoring a goal apiece.

Following an injury blow, Success ended the tournament won by Nigeria with two goals to his name while  the unheralded Iheanacho   netted six  times to emerge as the second highest goalscorer behind Sweden forward  Valmir Berisha, who scored seven goals to win the championship’s Golden Boot.

Iheanacho won the Golden Ball as he was the tournament’s best player,  while  Success, who struggled to get playing time at modest Premier League outfit Watford last season, returned to Nigeria to nurse his injury.

Iheanacho broke into Manchester City’s first team the following year and ended the 2015/2016 with 14 goals in all competitions.

Breaking  into the star-studded Manchester City squad meant  the  young striker  had a ‘divine right’ to  play for the Super Eagles.

He made his international debut as a substitute  in the 0-0 draw against Swaziland in a Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifier before grabbing  his first  start  in the Gabon  2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Egypt last year. The encounter ended 1-1.

Iheanacho started only five Premier League games in 20 appearances — scoring four goals.

Although Brazilian Jesus missed a large spell of last season with a broken metatarsal, he scored seven league goals in 10 appearances. Argentina striker Aguero  scored 20 league goals in 25 starts and 31 appearances.

Iheanacho is being linked with a move to Premier League mid-table teams Crystal Palace and West Ham after being deemed surplus to requirements at English powerhouse  Manchester  City.