Iheanacho scored in City’s 4-1 friendly win over Sporting Kansas City.

After watching Kelechi Iheanacho shine like a million stars on his Manchester City debut late Wednesday night in the friendly against Sporting Kansas, Coach Manuel Pellegrini has predicted a bright future for the Nigerian youngster.

Iheanacho scored in City’s 4-1 friendly win over Sporting Kansas City. Beyond getting on the scorer’s sheet, the erstwhile Golden Eaglets star proved his mettle in the star-studded Manchester City team to the delight of Pellegrini.

“Kelechi is just 17 years old and he’s a very important player for us in the future.

He demonstrated today what he can do in the future. It depends on the way he takes this profession, but I think he’s a good talent,” Pellegrini was quoted as saying on English tabloid Daily Mail.

The Chilean gaffer also added, “We’ve not decided yet (what the plan is for him) because it’s not easy. He’s just 17 and sometimes that’s the problem. We’ll see what he will do in the future,” he said.

“For the moment he will stay with us and we’ll see when we return to England what will happen with him. But he’s a very important player for the future for the club. After the tour we will see what happens with him. There are a lot of things to arrange to play in England but he has an important future.”

At the last FIFA U-17 tournament in the United Arab Emirates, Iheanacho scored six in seven games as the Eaglets romped to victory in the oil-rich Middle East country.

Already, many are calling for the fast tracking of Iheanacho to join the national team, the Super Eagles.