Claude Puel blames Leicester City players for Kelechi Iheanacho’s form

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Leicester boss Claude Puel was blunt about the player’s misfiring form.

Kelechi Iheanacho was a big money signing for Leicester City when he arrived from Manchester City in the summer of 2017.

The £25m fee, as reported by the BBC, brought about a level of expectation on the then-20-year-old that he didn’t quite live up to as Jamie Vardy’s apparent successor, although he did still manage eight goals last season.

There was always going to be a level of patience for a player so young, but his form this season has led to questions over how far that patience should go.

Iheanacho has managed just one Premier League goal this season despite starting nine times in the absence of Vardy, and worryingly, that one goal came with Vardy in the side.

Questions were certainly asked after he missed a one-on-one against Fulham last week – something that appears to highlight his lack of confidence at Leicester.

But according to Claude Puel, it’s the fault of the rest of the team that the Nigerian hasn’t been finding the net consistently.

“Perhaps just after his chance [against Fulham] he had a lack of confidence but I have confidence in him,” he said, according to Leicester Mercury.

“He has quality and has a great left foot. He can be clinical but last game there was not enough in our game to give him chances.

“It is not just an offensive problem, it is all the team need to play more with more intensity to play forward and find more solutions in the top half of the pitch.

“I have confidence in him and I am sure he will show his quality.”

That’s a lot of faith that Puel is putting in Iheanacho as he’s prepared to ask for more from his team rather than the Nigerian. Whether his team responds to the words remains to be seen.

But they are words that the 22-year-old will like to hear and he can certainly play with the freedom that his manager will back him – and that’s vital for any young player.

Perhaps the pressure on Iheanacho has been too much from the start and if that is the case, you’d have to say that Puel has done well in backing his player.