Super Eagles: Iheanacho’s 6-goal start raises one question Chelle cannot ignore

Kelechi Iheanacho is turning goals into a selection problem for Eric Chelle, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Bursaspor striker’s brace against İstanbulspor took him to six goals and two assists in five league games, a return that is becoming too productive to dismiss.

Chelle already has Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman, Akor Adams and Tolu Arokodare competing for attacking places, making Iheanacho’s path back into the Super Eagles difficult. But if the goals keep coming, the question will shift from whether Iheanacho deserves a recall to whether Nigeria can afford to leave him out.

The 29-year-old forward scored twice as Bursaspor defeated İstanbulspor 4-0 at the Timsah Arena on Thursday, September 3. His second goal came in the 77th minute, completing a performance that took his league record to six goals and two assists in five matches.

The numbers are not built around one good night. Iheanacho has produced at least one goal contribution in every league game he has played for Bursaspor this season.

The former Celtic man scored and assisted against Bodrum FK, scored against Iğdır FK, found the net against Fatih Karagümrük, then scored and assisted against Kayserispor before his İstanbulspor brace. That is eight goal contributions in five games.

Against İstanbulspor, the former Manchester City and Leicester City star did not wait for the game to come to him. When Bursaspor struggled to create in the first half, he dropped towards the ball, created his own opportunity and opened the scoring. He later finished the match by scoring the fourth goal.

That matters because this is not simply a striker collecting goals in a dominant team. Iheanacho is showing that he can still influence games when chances are not arriving regularly.

Iheanacho: Chelle has Super Eagles options, but that may not last

The problem for Iheanacho is the strength of Nigeria’s attack. Victor Osimhen is still the first name most Nigerians would put on the team sheet. Ademola Lookman gives Chelle another elite attacking option, while Akor Adams and Tolu Arokodare have also strengthened their claims.

That makes a September recall unlikely, even with Iheanacho’s current numbers. Nigeria’s first two 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers are against Madagascar on September 25 in Nigeria and Guinea-Bissau on September 29 away.

Chelle therefore has a selection puzzle rather than an obvious vacancy. He does not need another striker simply because Iheanacho is scoring. He needs to decide whether Iheanacho’s current production is strong enough to force his way into an attack that already contains several proven forwards.

That is where the next few Bursaspor matches become important. If the goals stop, Chelle can point to competition and squad balance. But if the Bursaspor striker keeps scoring at anything close to this rate, leaving him out becomes harder to explain.

Six goals in five league games does not guarantee a Super Eagles shirt. But if the run continues, Chelle may eventually have to answer the question that Iheanacho’s form has already raised: can Nigeria really afford to leave him out?