Kelechi Iheanacho believes the imminent arrival of Pep Guardiola to Manchester City will make him a better footballer.
Iheanacho proved to be a revelation in the just-concluded season, scoring in the first half as the Citizens drew 1-1 with Swansea City in their final game of the 2015/16 Barclays English Premier League season on Sunday.
His goal proved vital as it sealed City’s place in the qualifiers for next season’s Uefa Champions League and Pellegrini was quick to salute the accomplishments of the youngster.
Iheanacho has now voiced his sentiments about the arrival of Guardiola, who has previously managed FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich with distinction.
“There is a great manager coming in and you have to be happy about that.
“We (Manchester City stars) will work with him and he will be choosing the players he wants to work with next season so it’s a case of working hard and seeing what happens.
“Pep is a great manager who has coached some big teams in Europe and won a lot of trophies. I think he will do the same for us as well.
“I hope he can improve my game to help take me to the next level and we can all win many trophies,” Iheancho told reporters.
Meanwhile, former Manchester City manager, Pellegrini believes Nigerian striker, Iheanacho has a brilliant future in the game.
“I think he demonstrated how important he [Iheanacho] is,” Pellegrini said. “He is a very good player but he also must improve a lot.
“But a player of 19 years old who scores so many goals and not playing all the games, I think has a brilliant future. I think all the fans of City will be delighted with him in the next years.”
The respect between both individuals appears to be mutual as Iheanacho was quick to salute the exploits of the Chilean manager.
“He is a special manager for me and has done great things in my life – he brought me into the first team, introducing me to work with the squad right from pre-season last year.
“I am happy for him, for everything he achieved with this team, and happy that he made me a part of it.
“I won’t forget him, no matter where he goes.
“I am not quite happy that he is going, but this is the football world and anything can happen. I just wish him good luck wherever he goes and will be praying for him and hope to see the future.
“He is popular with the players – he makes people happy when they work with him because he likes to play football.
“I have been playing and scoring goals this season, so it has been a huge difference to what happened to me last season.
“But next season I hope to be much better, and score more goals to help the team succeed in all the competitions,” Iheanacho submitted.
Iheanacho scored 14 goals in all competitions for City this season.
Leave a Reply