Leicester City manager Claude Puel has insisted that Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho will stay with the foxes this month despite him finding it hard to break into the first eleven.
Iheanacho has only started two Premier League games this season since joining for £25 million from Manchester City last summer and his chances will only reduce with the arrival of Fousseni Diabate this month.
Speculations about the future of both Iheanacho and Ahmed Musa spiraled after their national team Coach Gernot Rohr said he expected the pair to leave the King Power to get more minutes under their belt before the World cup.
Puel however dismissed the suggestions saying he wasn’t sure what the national coach said but insisted the two players are still in his plans.
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] “Iheanacho, no chance of leaving. He has good talent and must work harder to stay in the team”. “He’s a young player and we have to develop him. I hope he can have more game time in the second half of the season”. “We will see. We have discussions with different players. For example, Iheanacho is a young player, arrived this season, and he will stay with us”. [/perfectpullquote]
When asked about the club’s record signing, Islam Silimani’s recent speculations on a possible move to Besiktas, Puel refused to comment on the matter saying…
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“It’s a good try but I can’t give all the details of individual players to you. I can’t talk about the details of the players, it’s important to have a good balance in the team…”.[/perfectpullquote]
Puel however admitted he has so many strikers at the club and will most likely off-load one on-loan before the window ends. If the foxes off-load Silimani, Leonardo Ulloa will stay but if they fail to get a proper price for the Algerian, the later might be forced to go on loan with Aston Villa already expressing interest.
On his visit to the Stamford Bridge, Puel who will be without Wes Morgan and Danny Simpson said he believes with Jamie Vady back to full fitness, his side can surely trouble Chelsea.
Image: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
