KELECHI IHEANACHO’S contract has two games to run before Celtic make a decision on the striker’s future.
The former Manchester City and Leicester City hitman arrived at Parkhead in September as a free agent after his deal at Sevilla was scrapped with a year still to go.
The Hoops hold the option of a 12-month extension and the 29-year-old forward is keen to get the situation sorted.
Iheanacho, who has earned the champions a remarkable eight points with late goals against Kilmarnock (2-1), Dundee (2-1), Hibs (2-1) and Motherwell (3-2), hopes to get the nod to figure at some stage in the winner-takes-all title decider against Hearts at Parkhead tomorrow afternoon.
THE ICE MAN…Kelechi Iheanacho calmly slots in Celtic’s penalty-kick stoppage-time winner in the 3-2 triumph over Motherwell at Fir Park.
He is concentrating fully on the action, but looking ahead, he said: “I think after 90 minutes on Saturday, then we’ll talk about that.”
Iheanacho has certainly proved his value to a team that has struggled for a No.9 for a chunk of the campaign although Daizen Maeda, who went on a 17-game sequence without scoring a goal, has stepped up in the crucial run-in with seven strikes in five outings.
The Nigerian international forward – known to his team-mates as The Ice Man as a tribute to his cool finishing – was delighted to play his part in Martin O’Neill’s side’s push for a fifth successive title as they overcame Motherwell 3-2 at Fir Park in midweek.
The tension reached fever pitch when the visitors were awarded a stoppage-time penalty-kick – a VAR decision by referee John Beaton that was labelled “disgusting” by Tynecastle boss Derek McInnes – and Iheanacho volunteered to take the kick.
NUMBER ONE…Kelechi Iheanacho is aiming for the Premiership pinnacle.
He looked the calmest man in the vicinity as he stroked the ball low into Calum Ward’s right-hand corner as the keeper took off in the opposite direction.
In the immediate aftermath of the victory that propelled Celtic to within a point of Hearts, The Ice Man came clean as he admitted: “You don’t want to know what my heart was saying at that moment.
“I don’t know about the fans, but my heartbeat was really high. It was a pressure moment and I just needed to keep calm, focus and just put it in the back of the net.
“I’m happy we got through that.”
Iheanacho, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “I think my team-mates also fancied me to do that
“But to be fair, anybody in my position would be scared of that moment. Did I always plan on going bottom left? Yes, I had a thing before I came up.
“I just said I’m going to go there. I didn’t change my mind. The keeper was teasing me a bit, but I didn’t change my mind. I just kept my cool and went there.
“That game is up there. It’s one of the biggest moments in my career.
PICK IT OUT…Kelechi Iheanacho fires Celtic’s winner into the Dundee net to seal the points at Dens Park last month.
“Celtic are a very massive club, so anybody coming here needs to know what the club expects of them. It didn’t go well at the middle of the season, but we pick ourselves up and we fight to the final day of the season.”
Iheanacho added: “We’re happy where we are at the moment and we’ll fight on Saturday to see that we win. It’s like a Cup Final, so we’ll give everything.
“Hearts have been one of the strongest teams in the league. It’s going to be a very, very difficult game. They’re going to come out with everything to win the title.
“We need to be ready to face that.
“The fans have been a very, very massive part this season, so we’ll need them one more time at Celtic Park to cheer us on and they’ve been doing that all season.”
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