Kelechi Iheanacho - Aston Villa

[Iran]

 

Will be interesting to see where Kelechi will be playing his football next season now that he won't sign a contract with us. Nonetheless, I wish him the best of luck and thank him for all his efforts and years of service for the club.

[Finnegan]

Odd choice of career move really given how entrenched Ollie Watkins is. 

 

Also Unai Emery demands a lot of physical graft from his players, I think he'll have the same reservations about Iheanacho previous managers have had. 

 

Think he'd absolutely mop up if he went to Spain or Italy to play at a different pace but a Premier League manager is never going to be able to carry Nacho's defensive work rate for long, especially there.

 

[An Away Move]

You're only as good as your last season IMO and he absolutely stole a living in his last with us in The Championship. He was on the beach the whole time. Thank for the memories before that. Can't really say I'll miss him like his shirt suggested we will.

Edited 10 May 2024 by An Away Move

[Lesta Legend]

Villa do sometimes play with a second striker. But he’ll definitely be playing second fiddle to Watkins. I guess he’s like the backup goalie always happy to plod along. He’s a good player just lacks that work rate. 

[coolhandfox]

Goes Villa he's swapping one bench for another.

 

[AKCJ]

Weird move from Villa. 

[RoboFox]

He'll be a squad player, but don't begrudge him a move there whatsoever. A club on an upward trajectory and a top class manager who seems to be able to get the best out of players. 

[OntarioFox]

I guess Villa are 2-3 years behind us on the financial curve of handing out inflated contracts like sweets. They're at their peak right now and it could look very foolish in the near future unless they can sustain top 5 finishes.

 

He's a perfectly good squad player, but the fact that, in the second tier, he still couldn't dislodge a 37 year old and the football equivalent of a labrador that got into the whiskey cabinet... well, any club willing to pay him even half of what he was on with us deserves what they get.

 

Thanks for the memories seniorman, but like far too many you stuck around too long chasing the pay packet. 

Edited 10 May 2024 by OntarioFox

[Vazman]

If he wants to go then the best of luck to him.

[Chelmofox]

That article is all agent bollox right? 

 

Quote

Unai Emery, who is widely regarded for his man-management skills, could be the ideal fit to unlock the undoubted potential the forward has shown over the past few years.

Talk of lots of PL interest. 

 

Agent will be pushing Villa because he knows they are one of the few that hand out big contracts like sweeties. Might happen, but i would be surprised.

[Ely fox]

42 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

Odd choice of career move really given how entrenched Ollie Watkins is. 

 

Also Unai Emery demands a lot of physical graft from his players, I think he'll have the same reservations about Iheanacho previous managers have had. 

 

Think he'd absolutely mop up if he went to Spain or Italy to play at a different pace but a Premier League manager is never going to be able to carry Nacho's defensive work rate for long, especially there.

 

Great point. I think this player always comes across as a bit part player / sub. 

[filbertway]

Clear that for all his natural ability Kel really isn't that arsed about making the most of his career. More than happy to be 2nd or 3rd choice here and looks like he'll be happy to go and be 2nd/3rd choice at Villa.

 

He's gonna make a tonne of money from his career, but you do wonder how much he could have achieved if he had the same mentality as King or Albrighton who have absolutely maximised their ability to the limit. 

[Ely fox]

I think that Villa is the best he could have hoped for. 

[RowlattsFox]

I think if he chooses to go to Villa, it says where his head is regarding his footballing career. Happy to go through the motions as a bit parter and pick up a good wage. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with that, just lacks a bit of ambition and drive. But then if he had that he'd probably have forced a move away from here way before now. 

[MPH]

Villa will be playing in Europe next season. Lots of group games for Ollie Watkins and quite a few league games  for Nacho. He’ll probably get 10-15 starts and about as many sub appearances at least.

 

 

 

i suppose that’s easier to stomach when playing for a top 5 team than playing for a championship/ lower half  prem team.
 

[Greg2607]

Ultimately, it's pretty much exactly the same move he made coming to Leicester if he goes to Villa isn't it? 

 

A team fighting for Europe and for trophies and he is likely to be a back up to the main striker. 

 

He'll earn a decent wedge there i'm sure. 

[sm1]

38 minutes ago, RowlattsFox said:

I think if he chooses to go to Villa, it says where his head is regarding his footballing career. Happy to go through the motions as a bit parter and pick up a good wage. Not that there is anything necessarily wrong with that, just lacks a bit of ambition and drive. But then if he had that he'd probably have forced a move away from here way before now. 

Yeah I think this move epitomises Nacho. He just doesn't seem to have the confidence or drive of a top sportsman. I know during Covid a few people theorised that he was doing so well because the stadiums were empty and he didnt have that public glare on him. Maybe there's something to that theory.

[foxile5]

Good luck to him if he can get a contract at Villa.

 

I'd be absolutely staggered if he played anything more than a bit-part in lower cup games for them. He's not better than what they have and I'm not sure it would be worth them disrupting their forward line for someone who hasn't managed any more than a goal every 3/4 games for us. 

[coolhandfox]

If he had the drive and mentality, he would have been our first-choice striker by now. 

 

The fact that he is being kept out of a team by a 37-year-old says it all. 

[Pliskin]

Very much a rotation option for them. He needs a new challenge, and one that will get something out of him. Villa could be a good destination for him, but he’d have to accept that he will be a squad player. 

[South Shire Fox]

Hes not an Aston Villa player at all. Emery has two mobile strikers who high press in Watkins and Duran.. Iheanacho offers none of that. Unless its a Soyuncu situation where they get him on a contract and try to sell him quickly

[Wortho]

I can’t see this happening.

[foxfanazer]

Unless Villa are creating a walking football team I don't understand the move 

[SkidsFox]

Makes sense for Kel, seeing as he's one of the players Enzo prefers not to select if at all possible (see also Canon, Souttar and Albrighton). Maybe Villa, after seeing a back-in-form Youri, think we have some fine players but just mis-manage them (and they could be justified in that view to an extent)

[Ric Flair]

If they did deploy a front two then I could see them getting a tune out of him, not necessarily consistently but enough to be a valuable squad player where they'll be competing in 4 competitions.

 

Watkins is a very good presser and off rhe shoulder striker so Kel dropping in to play those slide rule passes he's excellent at would be an option and likewise the space Watkins would create for him would allow him to bumble in to the box and finish.

 

His pockets of form for us have almost exclusively been in a front two with Vardy or Daka and the games he did well in in front 3 was with strong runners ahead of him like Barnes and Under in the 2020/21 Europa League campaign.