Villa join Iheanacho chase

Aston Villa have thrown their hat in the ring for the signature of Nigerian forward Kelechi Iheanacho, who is poised to depart Leicester City at the end of his contract at the King Power stadium this summer, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Other Premier League clubs also linked with the 27-year-old forward are Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, while Turkish club Trabzonspor identified the forward as a potential replacement for Southampton loanee Paul Onuachu, whose future at the club remains doubtful despite his goalscoring form.

With aspirations to fortify their attacking options, Villa have set sights on Iheanacho.

While Ollie Watkins leads Villa’s attack and Jhon Duran serves as backup to the English striker, Unai Emery, according to Football Insider, hopes to bolster his attacking options with the signing of Iheanacho amid the possibility of the club qualifying for European competition next season.

Villa are currently fourth in the EPL with 67 points from 35 games, and with three games left, Emery’s side must win their remaining games and hope Tottenham Hotspur, who have played two less, can drop points to achieve their Champions League dreams.

Having slipped down the pecking order at Leicester City, Iheanacho’s absence from the match-day squad in their last four games further fuels speculations of his imminent departure.

“It looks like he (Iheanacho) will leave Leicester, and at the moment, the most likely path for him to take is to Turkey. Trabzonspor are one of the teams for him, and these sorts of options might have to become very real, even though it seems to be early in his career,” Givemesport reported.

“From a Leicester point of view, keeping him doesn’t seem a wise move as he is one of the higher earners in that side, and he has only started 10 games in a season when they are returning back to the Premier League.”

Iheanacho has scored six goals in 25 league appearances for Leicester City this season.