Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has faulted Kelechi Iheanacho’s choice of Manchester City for his first taste of European football, stressing; a smaller club where he would have more “playing time” suits his growth requirements.
Keshi also rued the impromptu exit of the Nigeria Under-17 starlet from Eagles team B camp to complete the signing of a fresh City deal.
“I would have loved to take him to CHAN, where he could have get more exposure and experience, where he would grow more in confidence and take take his game to the next level, but he and his dad opted for something else,” Keshi was reported as saying on a radio interview.
While another Golden Eaglets player, Taiwo Awoniyi, failed to
make the final cut for the 2014 CHAN tournament, which begins in South Africa on January 11, goalkeeper Dele Alampasu made the 23-man squad.
The 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup MVP and his agents are yet working out suitable payment modalities for his contract with the Etihad Stadium outfit and he is alongside his father, James, reportedly still in Spain.
On Kelechi’s choice of City, Keshi added: “We need to be realistic in our dealings, Iheanacho should have been taken to a smaller team, where he can mature quickly by getting play time.
“Iheanacho can’t play in Manchester City in the next one year or so, it is not good for him.”
Kelechi will travel to Switzerland next week for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award gala.
