Former African Footballer of the Year and 1996 Olympics gold medalist Victor Ikpeba is of the opinion that Kelechi Iheanacho can step into the shoes of Jamie Vardy when the aging Leicester City striker calls time on his career.

Iheanacho has hit a rich vein of form for the Foxes, scoring seven goals in his last five games in all competitions and was recently named the Premier League Player of the Month for March.

Few days after returning from international duty with the Super Eagles, Iheanacho signed a new contract with Leicester City, where he will now stay until at least the end of the 2023-2024 season.

Speaking on Iheanacho's new deal, Ikpeba said on Super Sport's Monday Night Football : "Deserving in some ways because his performance in the last few weeks is a signal to Brendan Rodgers that Kelechi might be a good replacement for Vardy, he's not getting younger.

"If Kelechi has the confidence of the manager and his teammates, if they give him those passes he will score goals.

"So in some ways Kelechi is just like the natural replacement for Vardy, I think so.

"For him to have a three-year extension, it says volumes in modern football."

Iheanacho joined Leicester City from Manchester City in the summer of 2017 for a fee of 25 million pounds.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

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