Kelechi Iheanacho will spend the remainder of the 2024/25 season on loan at Boro after joining from Spanish side Sevilla.
Here are some of the key moments from the 28-year-old’s career to date…
- Iheanacho was born in October 1996 in Owerri, the capital city of Imo State in Nigeria
- He represented Taye Academy and was selected for the Under-17 World Cup in 2013, where he scored six goals as Nigeria won the title
- The striker was named as the tournament’s best player and his performances led to interest from a number of European clubs
- He eventually signed a pre-contract agreement to join Manchester City on his 18th birthday in 2014
- Iheanacho was named as Africa’s Most Promising Talent by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2013 and 2016
- He began to make strides at senior level with Manchester City in 2015 and made his Premier League debut in August of that year. His first goal came against Crystal Palace the following month
- The 2015/16 season was a major breakthrough for the Nigerian, who also scored an FA Cup hat-trick against Aston Villa and registered 14 goals in all competitions, despite starting just 11 times
- He also appeared for City in the Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid that season, and ended the campaign with the best goals-per-minute ratio in the Premier League
- Iheanacho’s form earned him a nomination for the coveted FIFA Golden Boy award in 2016
- He departed City in the summer of 2017 with a record of 21 goals in 64 senior appearances
- The striker has scored 15 goals for Nigeria’s senior team, who he has appeared for 57 times
- He joined Leicester City in the summer of 2017 and scored 61 goals for the Foxes across seven seasons
- A run of 12 goals in 10 games in the 2020/21 season helped Leicester qualify for the Europa League. He also won the Premier League Player of the Month award in March 2021 during that run
- Iheanacho scored the only goal in Leicester’s win over Southampton in the FA Cup semi-final that season, and was a starter in the final as the Foxes defeated Chelsea
- The Nigerian scored the winning goal in the 2021 Community Shield against Manchester City, and was named the club’s Player of the Year for 2022/23
- He helped Leicester win the Sky Bet Championship last season before moving to La Liga side Sevilla
- Iheanacho scored three times in 11 appearances in all competitions for Sevilla, and will now spend the remainder of the campaign on Teesside