Bench role not good for Iheanacho, Adepoju warns

From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
Nigeria’s former international, Mutiu Adepoju has advised England-based Nigerian forward, Kelechi Iheanacho to discuss with Manchester City Manager, Pep Guardiola over his future before the beginning of next season, warning that sitting on the bench is not good for his career.
Speaking to Daily Sun Sports on telephone, the former Super Eagles’ winger equally rated Chelsea winger, Victor Moses the most outstanding Nigerian player in Europe, even as he lamented that his compatriot, Ahmed Musa had a bad season with Leicester City.
On the performance of Nigerian players in Europe, he said: “I believe strongly that most of them did very well, but it could have been better. There are some players like Iheanacho we all expected to do more in his club, but he was underutilised. I know that he is still a good player and we hope that he will do better when the new season starts.
“It is obvious that Victor Moses was outstanding and he played in almost all the matches that helped Chelsea win the league trophy. There is no doubt that he is a very good player and he actually performed wonderfully well. He gave a good account of himself and I strongly believe that he will put up a good performance with the Super Eagles,” he noted.
Asked if Ahmed Musa’s decision to join the Premiership was a mistake, Adepoju replied: “Football is not mathematics, it is not like that. It is always a case of sometimes a player is down, sometimes he is up. It happens when a player meets a coach with a different plan.
“So, we should not look at him as a disappointment because he has been a very good player who performed very well in the past. He did not have a good season but we should not write him off. We have to continue to encourage him because he is still a good player,” he said.
On whether Iheanacho  should quit Manchester City, Adepoju said: “It largely depends on what his coach wants. If he wants him and would count on him, he should stay because, Manchester City is a big club. But if he is not part of his plan, he should leave because, no player wants to stay on the bench for a long period. If he is going to keep him on the bench, he should move on,” he advised.