Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini insists Nigerian born wonderkid Kelechi Iheanacho has proved why he did not need to splash any more cash. The 19-year-old’s impressive hat-trick fired City into the FA Cup fifth round as they demolished Aston Villa 4-0.
City allowed Stevan Jovetic and Edin Dzeko to leave last year, only signing Wilfried Bony to boost their forward line.
Iheanacho jabbed an early goal and netted a first-half penalty before running through after Villa’s defensive slip to complete his treble after the break.
Sergio Aguero and Iheanacho are City’s only fit strikers with Bony struggling with a calf injury and Pellegrini believes the rookie’s goals justify his call.
Pellegrini said: “I see him working every day so I know what he can do. Maybe I received some criticism why we didn’t replace Jovetic and Dzeko and I answered we had Kelechi.
“I am not thinking about money, I am thinking we have a young player who is very important for our club. We have good players who are ready to play and you must keep the options. I know we have a player who deserves space in the squad.
“It’s just one game. I am very happy because he improves every week.”
Iheanacho added to City TV: “I’m so glad to score a hat-trick, it’s a great day in my life but it’s not the greatest day of my life because I need to keep working hard. This is the starting point of my career so I need to keep going.
“It’s important to get an early goal. The penalty was very good I took my time, it was a very good penalty for me.”
Raheem Sterling added a fourth as City kept their bid to win the quadruple alive with the club fighting for the Barclays Premier League title and Champions League, having already reached the League Cup final.
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