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Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho, 20, who completed medical at Leicester City yesterday is facing problems in the US after allegations were made against him that he may have misled a court in Pennsylvania.
With the medical concluded, it now appears that Iheanacho’s switch to Leicester City is almost a done deal with just some paperwork left to complete the transfer believed to be worth around £25 million.
Iheanacho was linked with a move to West Ham and other Premier League clubs before Leicester, the 2016 English champions who parade Nigerians Ahmed Musa and Wilfred Ndidi, stepped in.
But the transfer to Leicester could be marred following the legal battles with his previous representatives, American-based First Eleven Management, after pulling out of a contract with them two years ago to sign with Stellar, who look after Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale.
Iheanacho filed pleadings that denied he knew or spent time with Henry Galeano, who separately claims he is his former agent.
He was alleged to have claimed he believed Galeano was an alias used by First Eleven Management co-owner Robert Zanicky.
New Yorker Galeano was the company’s registered FIFA-licensed agent.
UK’s SunSport and the American court have been handed a series of photos and documents that will require an explanation from the Nigerian international.
The crucial legal question for Iheanacho will be whether he did more than merely meet Galeano or happened to be with him on occasions. It certainly seems clear they at least met.
Some of the pictures Galeano has filed before the court showed Iheanacho by his side as he signed a new Manchester City contract shortly after his 18th birthday in October 2014.
The legal position is further complicated because Galeano — in a signed and sworn affidavit submitted to the court — claims he spent “hundreds of hours†with the player.
Under Pennsylvania Law, if it is found Iheanacho knowingly tried to mislead the court, he could be charged with unsworn falsification — which, if found guilty, carries a penalty of up to two years in prison.
And with an impending £25million move to Leicester on the cards, his new club will want assurances that his case in the US is being properly handled and will not become a ticking time-bomb.
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