Kelechi Iheanacho Explains the Origin of His Nickname Senior Man

Kelechi Iheanacho Explains the Origin of His Nickname Senior Man

  • New Sevilla attacker Kelechi Iheanacho is popularly referred to as Senior Man by fans and teammates
  • Iheanacho left Leicester City after seven years and joined the La Liga side as a free agent on a two-year deal
  • The Super Eagles forward has explained the origin of his nickname in his first words as a Sevilla player

Kelechi Iheanacho opened up about the origin of his nickname after joining Sevilla as a free agent on a two-year contract with an option of another year.

After seven years at the King Power Stadium, Iheanacho left Leicester City after his contract expired on June 30 and decided to try a new adventure in the Spanish La Liga.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi during Leicester City's trophy celebration.
Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi helped Leicester City win the EFL Championships last season. Photo by Plumb Images.
Source: Getty Images

During his time in the Premier League, he was pivotal to the club winning the 2021 FA Cup. In the run-in, he became Africa’s top scorer in the competition.

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Iheanacho explains nickname

Iheanacho’s time at Leicester was made memorable by his friendship with compatriot Wilfred Ndidi and his nickname Senior Man Kelz, a household name with fans.

In his first interview as a Sevilla player, he was asked to explain where the nickname began, which he disclosed started in the Leicester City dressing room.

“One day, Wilfred Ndidi, Daniel Amartey, and I were walking, and they started calling me Senior Man. We started making jokes about it and videos about it. Then, from there, everybody started calling me Senior Man,” he said.

As noted by Sevilla ES, the former U17 champion became the second Nigerian to join Sevilla, following Chidera Ejuke, who was the first and joined weeks earlier.

Nigerian players in La Liga

Legit.ng analysed the eight Nigerian players in La Liga after Kelechi Iheanacho joined the country’s contingent in Spain by signing for the record Europa League winners.

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Osimhen, Lookman and other Super Eagles stars expected to change clubs before deadline day

The former Leicester City star became the seventh Nigerian footballer currently playing in Spain, joining the likes of Ejuke and Real Sociedad’s Sadiq Umar.

Nigerian players set to join new clubs

Legit.ng previously analysed Nigerian players looking for new clubs this summer after Iheanacho joined Sevilla on a two-year contract with a further year option.

Victor Osimhen is the most high-profile name among them, as he is expected to leave Napoli if any club triggers his £113 million release clause and high wage demands.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Elijah Odetokun avatar

Elijah Odetokun (Sports Editor) Elijah Odetokun is a Nigerian sports editor at Legit NG. He has four years of working experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria (August 2020 - September 2020), OmaSports (December 2020 - June 2021), El Futbolero (July 2021; September 2021- November 2021), and Sports Brief (November 2022 - July 2024). He is a press conference and interview specialist and has attended trainings held by Reuters, AIPS, and FIJ. He holds a Bachelor of Agriculture (2021) from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta. Reach me via elijah.odetokun@sportsbrief.com