Yakubu has advised his countryman Kelechi Iheanacho, who has been linked with Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United during this window, to leave Manchester City.
Yakubu has told ESPN that it would be in Kelechi Iheanacho’s best interests to leave Manchester City this summer amid speculation linking him with moves to West Ham (via Sky Sports) and Tottenham (via The Sun) during this window so far.
Iheanacho has made a promising start to life in the Premier League, boasting an incredibly impressive strike-rate for the Citizens.
Manchester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho
However, his chances have been severely limited due to the presence of the likes of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus within the City squad, and Yakubu has urged the 20-year-old – who attracted a bid from West Ham back in June according to Sky Sports, and who The Sun reported earlier this month was catching Tottenham’s attention – to consider his options.
“He needs to leave. He’s a football player, he needs to play. If you don’t play, you don’t improve, sitting on the bench every week, you don’t play, you get frustrated. For him I think it’s a good idea for him to move and to get more experience,” he told ESPN.
If Tottenham or West Ham remain interested in the youngster, they will be hoping that the advice from one of his countrymen is something that Iheanacho will be taking seriously – which may not be out of the question given that Yakubu spent a number of years in the Premier League, so has a decent idea of what Iheanacho may be thinking about.
Whether Spurs or the Hammers are still interested in Iheanacho perhaps remain to be seen, but it could certainly be argued that he would be a tremendous addition for either club.
He appears to have all the talent and potential required to go a very long way, and seems to boast the goalscoring instinct that the West Ham forwards lacked last season.
And while Harry Kane was sensational for Spurs once again last term, it would hardly be a surprise if Mauricio Pochettino felt that strengthening his options up top was still something he would like to do to improve the side’s depth.
Iheanacho’s form suggests that he could certainly fill a void at either club, and perhaps luckily for both sides – if they are both still keen on a move – Yakubu has warned the prospect that staying put may do the most damage to his career.
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