Nottingham Forest have opened talks with Championship outfit Leicester to sign Kelechi Iheanacho. The Reds are hoping to ramp up their recruitment drive and it’s been claimed that the Foxes star is a wanted man.
According to Foot Mercato, the Reds have placed the Nigerian player at the top of their summer shortlist. They also suggest that Forest want to close a deal for Iheanacho in the coming days.
Iheanacho signed for Leicester in 2017 from Manchester City. He cost the club £25 million and has proved to be a pretty useful addition to the club who have suffered a drastic fall from grace.
The 26-year-old has scored 55 goals and claimed 33 assists during his time at the King Power Stadium. He’s averaged a goal roughly every 98 minutes and that’s not a bad return for someone who hasn’t always been considered a starter.
Prior to joining Leicester, he was viewed as a backup option at Manchester City. There, he bagged 21 goals in 64 appearances, registering eight assists as he deputised for Sergio Aguero in the City attack.
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In April 2021, the talisman received some big praise from Pep Guardiola. He called the player ‘incredible’ and claimed that he was a ‘fantastic person’ ahead of a trip to Leicester for City.
Forest place Iheanacho at the top of their wishlist
The latest report claims that talks are set to start between the two clubs. Iheanacho will almost certainly leave Leicester this summer following their relegation to the second tier.
Forest could definitely do with some more firepower. Taiwo Awoniyi scored 11 goals in all competitions last season but he’s somewhat different to Iheanacho who he happens to be good friends with.
The Reds are hoping to offload a few players this summer. Two of those are Emmanuel Dennis and Sam Surridge, with Forest set to be left very short in the final third if they’re successful in offloading both.
Some reports weeks ago suggested that a deal was close. They seemed premature though and talks between the two parties look set to get underway.
One negative of this signing would be his international situation. Given that he’s a Nigerian star, it means Forest would be signing another player that they could potentially lose for four games when the AFCON begins in January.