It was, Kelechi Iheanacho says, the season of his life. The goals were flowing. The silverware too. And now that he has been reunited with the manager who made it possible, he sees no reason why history cannot repeat itself.
The Covid-hit season of 2020/21 may not be one that many look back on fondly, but for Leicester City, Brendan Rodgers and Iheanacho, it was one to remember. The Foxes won the FA Cup, defeating Chelsea in the final. They finished fifth in the Premier League. And Iheanacho was on fire, outscoring club legend Jamie Vardy as he found the net 19 times.
Few would have predicted back then that the Nigerian would see such setbacks in his career as those he has since encountered, or, with all respect, that Celtic would be in a position to land him on a free transfer when he was still just 28.
But now that he is back working in tandem with Rodgers, Iheanacho is certain that the pair can recreate the magic they produced together at the King Power once more, as he backed his manager to tease out the best of him at Celtic.
“I think it's the best season I've had in my career,” Iheanacho said.
Read more:
- Red Star 1 Celtic 1: Iheanacho makes instant impact as Donavan shines in Serbia
- Colby Donovan on his dream of following path from academy kid to Celtic legend
- Rodgers draws line under Celtic summer unrest as he targets Europa League run
“It was a great, great season for me. We won the cup, and we won the Community Shield. It was really good, I loved it.
“Hopefully that kind of thing can happen again, maybe here in Celtic, you never know. It was a fantastic season. It was a miracle season, to be fair.
"Nobody knew it was coming. It was a great season under him. Here we go again, hopefully that will repeat again.
“I think the manager knows me and I've worked with him quite a bit. He's a brilliant manager and the way he manages players, he's top-notch. I think he does it quite well and I'm happy to be working with him again. I'm really excited.
“I've always believed in myself and I believe in my quality and what I can do. It's just to get the opportunity to show what I can do or what I can bring.
“I just believed in myself right from when I started playing. If the opportunity comes, I know I'm going to do well. But this time now, it came with someone that I know really well and someone that knows me really well.
“So I'm happy doing this under him."
It is fair to say that news of Iheanacho signing for the club following his release from Sevilla hardly set pulses racing among the Celtic support. That was a reflection on a few unhappy seasons for the player, of course, but also chiefly on the shambolic nature of their summer transfer window.
There was concern too over what condition he would be in upon arrival in Glasgow. His talent had never really been in question since his early days at Manchester City, but reports from Spain and from a loan spell at Middlesbrough last season were less than encouraging.
A punishing personal training regime that has allowed him to hit the ground running at Celtic has not only dispelled many of those fears, but has stoked a fair bit of delayed excitement that Iheanacho may well be a shrewd acquisition.
Rodgers made a point of mentioning at his press conference yesterday, notably, that the striker’s body fat percentage is among the lowest in the Celtic squad. And Iheanacho admits that critics who have written off his career as being on the slide have ignited a fire within him.
“When you're not playing so much, you just need to try to keep the same level, try to be up there,” he said.
“If you're not doing that, you wouldn't be close to the people that are already playing games and all that. You'd be miles off it.
“So, you just need to work more, work on your own if you're not playing, try to get fitness and just to be close in case you have the opportunity to come back, so that you're not too far off from where everyone is.
“You know in football, sometimes people, it's what they see. They always feed off what they see. So if they're not seeing it again, they're not going to try to probably remember what you've done before. They'll always wait to see something new or something.
“In life, you always have to prove people wrong anyway. I've been living for that. So, I just keep working hard to get there.”
Iheanacho has found the net twice in just three appearances for Celtic so far, and thoroughly enjoyed sharing in the rapturous celebrations his goals against Kilmarnock and Red Star Belgrade sparked among the travelling support on each occasion.
He is hoping though to get the chance to bang in a first goal in in front of 60,000-odd home fans this afternoon at Celtic Park as his side take on Hibernian.
“I remember when I was at Manchester City, we came here,” he said, diplomatically omitting any mention of his goal against Celtic in the subsequent 1-1 draw at The Etihad.
“It was a long, long time ago and I didn't have a chance to get on, but it was a very, very loud atmosphere here. It was really loud. It was a good atmosphere, and it was a great game.
“Celtic has been a great team for a long, long, long, long time. Here at Celtic Park, it's really loud and it's a good atmosphere.
“If I get a chance to play there tomorrow, it will be a good one.”
