Middlesbrough may have struck gold with ex-Premier League star deal | OneFootball

Boro’s capture of Kelechi Iheanacho could prove to be instrumental to returning to the Premier League.

Middlesbrough had a strong winter transfer window, drawing in a number of high-profile players.

In an attempt to bolster Michael Carrick’s squad to maintain a promotion push back to the Premier League, Boro recruited the likes of Morgan Whittaker from Plymouth Argyle in a permanent switch, along with Bournemouth shot-stopper Mark Travers and exciting Aston Villa talent Samuel Iling-Junior on loan deals until the end of the season.

In a deadline-day move, the Teesside club also made a move for former Leicester City forward Kelechi Iheanacho, securing the Nigerian international’s services from Spanish outfit Sevilla for the remainder of the campaign.

Despite possessing excellent pedigree at the top end of the game, Iheanacho’s form hasn’t been at its usual standards of late, but Middlesbrough could boost their Premier League ambitions if they can manage to rekindle it.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s disappointing recent form

Despite recording somewhat of a statement signing in the second tier, Kelechi Iheanacho hasn’t had a period of goalscoring form for the last four seasons.

Since recording 12 goals in the Premier League back in 2021, Iheanacho netted four times the following year, before registering only five strikes in 28 games as the Foxes suffered a shock relegation down to the second tier.

In the Championship, the number nine would once again fail to be prolific, netting just five times from 23 second tier outings as Enzo Maresca’s men made it back to the top-flight at the first time of asking.

That would prove to be the final year at the King Power Stadium for the forward, moving overseas to join La Liga side Sevilla.

But his short spell at the club has been dismal, unable to record a single league goal in only nine appearances, leading to his loan to the Riverside Stadium.

As per reports, the 28-year-old has been loaned out to Boro in order to inject some confidence into his game, before Sevilla look to sell permanently in the summer.

While Kelechi Iheanacho has struggled in recent times to find the back of the net on a consistent basis, his last venture into the Championship saw him get very limited gametime in the Midlands, with Middlesbrough likely to offer him a lot more than the 915 minutes he played back in 2024.

When the Nigerian striker was at Manchester City, he was highly regarded as one of the Premier League's future talents and, although it hasn't quite worked out, he still has a decent record in the top division.

During his Leicester career, he netted 61 goals and laid on 34 assists in 232 games, and Boro would likely be delighted to sign a player recording those sorts of contributions.

With a very impressive minutes-per-contribution rate, Iheanacho has the potential to thrive with such creative quality around him, with the likes of Ben Doak, Morgan Whittaker and Finn Azaz set to give him the opportunities to get back to his best and record a high number of goals to cement a play-off place.