Manchester City 2 - 2 AS Roma: In Praise Of Kelechi Iheanacho

A 2-2 draw. A debut goal for Raheem Sterling. A winning spot-kick scored by Joe Hart. 


(Sterling marked his City debut with a goal inside three minutes - Getty Images)

Manchester City's opening International Champions' Cup match against AS Roma on Tuesday morning was certainly worth waking up for. 

Fielding a first-half eleven with an average age of 25, Manuel Pellegrini assembled a side abundant with experience, trickery and extraordinary potential. Manu Garcia, 17, whom the Sky Sports' commentator mistook for David Silva on one occasion, glistened alongside the wizard himself, whilst Raheem Sterling silenced his numerous critics with a confident finish after just three minutes. 

Manchester born Brandon Barker, 18, Rony Lopes, 19, and Jason Denayer, 20, provided another tranquil view of the future in the second half, but it was striker Kelechi Iheanacho, 18, who attracted the most praise from exultant City supporters and impressed journalists on Twitter. 


(Kelechi Iheanacho receives praise on Twitter)

The Taye Academy product provided a sublime assist and scored a goal of his own in a typically animated performance.

Iheanacho, a Nigeria U20 international, helped his country to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 2013 and was voted CAF Most Promising Talent of the Year in the same year. The 18-year-old claimed the Golden Ball in the tournament, scoring six times and supplying seven assists in seven games. His form earned him a move to Manchester in 2014 where he instantly made an impact with two goals in pre-season. 


(Iheanacho delivers a lofted ball into the path of Raheem Sterling for City's opener - Getty Images)

This year, Pellegrini is ready to promote Iheanacho to the first team in which he is likely to play a significant role. The Nigerian possesses strength and assurance at a level too high for the Elite Development Squad and the likely departures of Edin Džeko and Stevan Jovetić will leave space to fill up front. 

City require something fresh, something raw and something different. Iheanacho, based on his current pre-season form, will slot in nicely. 

Anfield is no place for the ambitious & Sterling's reputation should not worry City fans

As if his staggering £50m price tag wasn't enough to dissuade Manchester City from moving for him this summer, Raheem Sterling is beginning to compile his own long list of reasons for why Txiki Begiristain should opt against signing the winger. 


(Image via Getty Images)

After reports emerged suggesting the 20-year-old would tell Liverpool that he has no plans to join their pre-season tour of Asia, Sterling informed his club that he would be absent from training on Wednesday morning due to illness. 

The timing was impeccable. Ridiculous, even.

Sterling has become something of a pantomime villain ever since announcing that he would not be signing a new deal with the Merseyside club in April. He conducted an interview with the BBC without consent from Liverpool in which he nervously insisted he was not a "money-grabbing 20-year-old", and although the whole thing was a complete PR disaster, there's no reason to suggest he was lying. 

"It's never been about money. I talk about winning trophies throughout my career. That's all I talk about," he explained.

(Sterling speaks to the BBC in April - via Yahoo Eurosport)

And with Liverpool offering the England international up to £100,000-a-week in a bid to tie him to a new deal in February, his words appear to be truthful. 

If Sterling longs for silverware, a modern-day Liverpool is not the place for him. Brendan Rodger's side have not won a domestic trophy since 2012 when they claimed the Capital One Cup. Their last Premier League trophy came in 1990 and a weakened side was fielded when Liverpool met European giants Real Madrid in the group stages of last season's Champions League. The odd domestic trophy once every five or six years is not enough for a young player hungry for success and capable of improving a top-four outfit, and a lack of ambition in the world's most decorated club competition is unlikely to persuade someone like that to stay.

Liverpool had their best chance of landing the league title in the 2013-2014 season in which they threw away a healthy lead at the top of the table. Sterling starred alongside Luis Suarez and Steven Gerrard in that campaign, but the devastating collapse was enough to ensure the latter two planned the rest of their careers away from Anfield. 

Even at 20-years-old, Sterling has every right to demand silverware. He is aware of Liverpool's fading influence in the Premier League and recognises that European football is likely to ignore Merseyside for the foreseeable future with Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and likely suitors Manchester City increasing in strength every summer. 

(Liverpool showed little ambition in their loss at the Bernabeu in November - via BBC Sport)

The Liverpool Echo reported this week that Liverpool have had no contact with the Blues since a £35m + £5m add-ons bid was rejected three weeks ago and the player and his agent are becoming increasingly desperate to finalise a move to Manchester. The winger's latest antics are likely to be accompanied by a formal transfer request should City fail to launch a third bid and a deal could be concluded by the end of next week.

As for Sterling's decaying reputation, why should Manchester City fans be concerned? He is showing an obvious desire to join the club for reasons other than money, he is keen to win trophies with the club and City, thus far, have conducted their pursuit of the winger in a respectable fashion. The club have bought pantomime villains in the past - Carlos Tevez joining from rivals Manchester United and Samir Nasri being portrayed as a traitor after signing from Arsenal in 2011 - and both went on to win trophies and cement their names in City's history. 

Sterling would be no different and would still represent some great business for the Blues.