It’s the seventh month of the NextGoalWinner Player of the Month awards, and we have another new face taking the top award this month. It’s another massively surprising recipient as well this year following on from Jesse Lingard last month, as March’s winner had only 4 full 90 minute performances under his belt at the beginning of the month, however he has taken the opportunities given to him with both hands and more than doubled his goal tally in just 4 games this month. So, this months award goes to Mr Kelechi Iheanacho, the Leicester City forward who has filled in for, and worked alongside Jamie Vardy this month to ensure his side have gone unbeaten the whole month, are into an FA Cup semi-final, and are now major contenders for a top 4 finish. A truly deserved recipient for this month, and I hope he can continue this near perfect vein of form.

So, as always, let us hopefully explain well enough why we have chosen Iheanacho as this months winner, and let us know over on Twitter (@NextGoalWinBlog) if you agree or disagree and any debate you have over our choice.

The Stats

As mentioned previously, Iheanacho had only made it through 4 full matches prior to this month, and only had 5 league starts under his belt, however with the loss of Jamie Vardy and other Leicester key players, he was called upon in March and truly delivered, bagging 7 goals, 1 assist and 2 man of the match awards from just 4 Leicester City games. He was almost ever present for the side, starting 3 games in a row for the first time in a long time, and began to show some of the potential and talent that had seen him make the move to Leicester from Manchester City years ago. At only age 24, it may be that this run of form could allow Iheanacho to make a serious play for the main striking role at Leicester City, that Jamie Vardy has dominated for so long, or possibly it could be the start of a blossoming partnership between the two as seen in their FA Cup semi-final in which they dominated Manchester United.

With the 4 Leicester matches, he averaged a WhoScored rating of 8.2/10 for the month, and has gotten himself on the verge of a double figures league goal tally for the first time in his entire career. Along with all the individual accolades and statistics from this month, the crucial facts are surrounding his team influence, as he has helped his side to an FA Cup semi-final that they could, and should realistically win, they are sitting fairly comfortably in 3rd spot in the Premier League, and most of these achievements are despite of major injuries and absences within the side.

This month also saw the international break, in which Iheanacho played 2 AFCON Qualifiers for Nigeria, which will be discussed briefly later.

Match By Match

March 3rd: Burnley 1-1 Leicester City – Kicking off Leicester’s month, was arguably their worst result and performance of the month, as they dropped their only points of the month after conceding in the opening minutes. It was Iheanacho who got Leicester back into the game and secured the draw, after he equalised shortly before half-time. This game kickstarted his month with a goal as he was given another opportunity to lead the line alongside Vardy. Although only playing 67 minutes in the game, he was the most influential player in Leicester’s side as they searched for a winner, making 3 shots and 1 key pass as they struggled to grab another goal that would take the 3 points back to the King Power.

March 6th: Brighton 1-2 Leicester City – As the month rolled on, Leicester’s performances increased, as they took all 3 points in what was another fairly tough match-up over Brighton. Although again conceding early, Iheanacho was again solid in front of goal to grab the equaliser. It was almost a replica of the previous game, however this time Leicester managed to grab the winner minutes from the end. It was almost a full match for Iheanacho as he was brought off late into injury time, however he had again proven his worth alongside Vardy. Having many more touches in this game, he was getting more involved as his side attacked with more determination than previously. With 2 shots, it was Iheanacho who was the main outlet for attacks and after picking up his 2nd goal in as many games, it had become clear to Rodgers that he was a man that could be relied upon.

March 14th: Leicester City 5-0 Sheffield United – The performance in Leicester’s 3rd and final league game really ramped up in terms of quality and score line, as they dominated struggling Sheffield, and Iheanacho grabbed a hattrick and a man of the match perfect 10 performance to truly show his talents and get people talking. There’s not much more I can add to this one except expressing how quality Iheanacho’s performance was, and his hattrick demonstrated his high potential and talents. These goals put him into double figures across all competitions for the season, while, now sitting at 6 league goals and in top form, he surely must be looking at reaching double figures in the remaining fixtures. A dominant performance and result from the whole side, led by Iheanacho.

March 21st: Leicester City 3-1 Manchester United – As mentioned previously, Leicester’s performances and results improved as the month continued, and reached a climax in the FA Cup quarter final against an in-form Manchester United side. The result itself was impressive, however it was the whole teams’ performance and playing style that made this game look so easy for Rodgers’ men. Most of the play and attacks ran through their in-form man Iheanacho, who bagged early in the game and then later to seal a victory despite United’s attacking threats. In this one, Iheanacho added his first assist of the season to his stats, as he set up the second. It was another near perfect performance and result from Iheanacho, and with another 2 goals, he has set Leicester up for a superb season as they have reached the FA Cup semi-final that they should be winning, and secured a fairly solid gap in the Champions League spots.

March 27th: Benin 0-1 Nigeria – In the first of 2 AFCON Qualifiers over the international break, Iheanacho was involved in both to help solidify what has been a near perfect qualifying group for Nigeria. While there aren’t any stats around from these 2 fixtures, Iheanacho did play a big role in both, playing 71 minutes of this fixture, against a Benin side that were the only real challengers to Nigeria’s top spot in the group. Nigeria left it late to nab the winner, however they did take the points and kept their qualification unbeaten run going.

March 30th: Nigeria 3-0 Lesotho – In the final qualifier, Nigeria did the business with some ease, as they took away a comfortable victory from their game against Lesotho. Iheanacho was again involved in this one, playing 86 minutes of the 90, however he wasn’t involved in any of the goals in this win, perhaps rather disappointing for the player as these international games ended his scoring streak. Despite his failure to score on the international stage, he did again put in a shift which helped him maintain an unbeaten month of football, and played the most minutes for some time in his career.