Kelechi Iheanacho opens up on Middlesbrough criticism and failed January Celtic move

Kelechi Iheanacho has opened up on the criticism he received last season while at Sevilla and Middlesbrough - while also shutting down a question on his January move to Boro over Celtic.

The striker joined Celtic this summer, six months after moving on loan to Boro when widely reported that the Scottish Giants were in for him too. His move to Boro proved a disappointing one, with the former Leicester City striker managing only one goal.

But having joined Celtic on a free this summer after Sevilla agreed to rip up his contract, Iheanacho enjoyed an altogether better start in green and white on Sunday when he came off the bench to net a late winner from the penalty spot against Kilmarnock.

Reacting after, Iheanacho said: “It is massive, really massive, for me. It's a great opportunity for me here, to come to this club and try to make that impact. Going forward I think it will give me the confidence to show my quality for the club.

"As a football player you get this all the time [criticism]. When it's not going really well, you just need to be strong, you don't need to lose your mind. It's a professional game, so you need to just focus and keep doing the work. When it clicks you just keep going and get there.”

One criticism Iheanacho often faced when at Boro was his fitness. Having barely played for Sevilla in the first half of the season, he arrived on Teesside looking out of shape. Despite many social media posts showing him training hard privately, he never did look like he got himself up to speed.

“If you really watch the game, you can see I'm making runs to get the ball,” he insisted. “I'm really fit, I'm ready to go for the season. Am I ready to play 90 minutes? Of course, you'll see. If you watch the team, you know that there's a lot of qualities in the team, a lot of great players as well. Getting to know the boys, getting to train with them a lot, I think I've learned a lot in the last few days.”

Iheanacho’s move to Celtic this summer came after the Hoops missed out on many summer targets, including David Strelec. In moving to Parkhead, Iheanacho links up with his former Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers, who has already placed a lot of expectations on his shoulders.

But asked about why he turned down Celtic in January, he said: “We don't need to talk about that now! We just need to put that aside and move on for the future. Of course, I always wanted to come to Celtic. It's a massive club and obviously I know the manager as well. It didn't work at that time, but now I think it's the right time.

“Obviously I've worked with the manager over the years and I've taken decisive penalties for him as well as the other clubs I've played for. He knows me as well, knows I am good on the spot, so he has really big confidence in me. He can bring the best out of me as well. I think coming here is really good for me as well, to play under him, to play in this great club. I'll give my best for the club.”

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