One tiny moment from Leicester City’s victory over West Brom may be cause for concern, but there is something supporters can do about it.

Midway through the second half, with the scoreline still goalless, a ball was played into the penalty area and Kelechi Iheanacho gave chase. It was a 50-50 between the City striker and the West Brom defender, and Iheanacho lost out, the ball cleared and the Nigerian tumbling to the ground.

As he picked himself up, he lifted his head and rather than see where the ball had gone, he looked at the couple of thousand City supporters stationed near the goal who had seen the moment happen right in front of them. Iheanacho appeared to be checking for the reaction. Were the City fans going to applaud him for a valiant effort? Or were they going to groan that he failed to beat the defender to the ball?

In the end it was neither. But that Iheanacho seemed preoccupied with whatever the reaction might be was telling.

The striker has had a bumpy ride since signing from Manchester City. For so long, he was regarded as a £25m flop, incapable of filling Jamie Vardy’s boots when he was called upon. There was a 12-month stint where he didn’t score, and during that period, there were times he was booed onto the pitch by City fans.

But amid injuries in early 2021, Rodgers changed formations and partnered Iheanacho up front with Vardy. The Nigerian, nearly four years after arriving, was handed his first proper run in the team.

Without his 14 goals in 15 games over the final three months of that season, City may not have won their first FA Cup and may not have sustained their Champions League challenge for so long. Iheanacho had gone from zero to hero.

Iheanacho’s heroics took place behind closed doors, and so he couldn’t be properly lauded for them. But maybe his form only improved because there was nobody to judge him. Speaking at the end of that season, Iheanacho said those moments a couple of years earlier, where he had been booed by his own supporters, were “draining”.

When fans returned, Iheanacho did not quite go back to being a bit-part player, but neither was he a regular. But when he played, he usually made something happen. As City struggled last term, supporters called for him to play a bigger role to save them. He had become a true fan favourite. “He’s magic, you know, Kelechi Iheanacho!” was regularly belted from the stands. He was one of only a few whose reputations were not harmed by the relegation, the striker winning the fans’ player of the year award.

It was not expected that he would be here for this season. Surely a Premier League team had seen what he had done in the minutes afforded to him and would take a punt on him. He wasn’t going to be expensive with only a year left on his contract.

But at City he stayed. It felt like a big deal. City had a striker who could tear up the Championship, like Aleksandar Mitrovic with Fulham, and get 30 or more goals.

And yet a few months into the season, no player’s form is discussed more often. Iheanacho is performing below expectations again. After scoring in four straight matches, he’s now gone six Championship fixtures without a goal. On Saturday, he snatched at his one shot, putting it wide of the far post. But more than that, his all-around performances have not been up to scratch, his close control lacking and his lay-offs not finding team-mates.

As such, the groans from the stands have returned. There’s no threat of boos yet, but Iheanacho seems to be underwhelming supporters more than most of the players in the City side.

He’s taken on a big role under Enzo Maresca. He has come deep to connect play and sometimes that means dropping further than all of the midfielders. It’s not unusual to see Ricardo Pereira and Harry Winks in more advanced positions than Iheanacho. But then he also has to be the man providing the threat up front, causing problems for the centre-backs and ensuring he is in the box to profit when City do attack.

There’s a lot to do and Maresca is happy with him. After the last home game against Watford, when Iheanacho’s performance disappointed and he was replaced by match-winner Jamie Vardy, Maresca said: “I was also happy with Kele’s performance. I think even with Kele, he was dropping and gives us an option in the middle, which is what we were looking for.

“Also he had some chances inside the box. I don’t think when he drops, we miss a striker inside the box, because every time we arrive in the last third, we always have five players inside the box.”

If he’s doing what the manager wants, even if it’s not leading to as many goals and assists as were expected of him, is that enough? It should be. Everybody would like, including Iheanacho himself, to be able to do both: connect play near the halfway line and be near or in the box to score or assist.

He is capable. There is plenty of evidence that he can be a game-changer. And his numbers this season, given he shares game-time with Jamie Vardy, are actually not too bad, with six goals and assists from the equivalent of nine full 90-minute outings.

But it’s a tough job, and it’s not any easier if he perceives the fans are disappointed with him. It is something all players have to deal with, but some are affected more than others. Some can shut out fan noise, while some thrive off it. Take Jamie Vardy for example, who is supercharged when opposition supporters dare to criticise him or his family.

For Iheanacho, it feels like he is at his best when there’s no negativity around him. He is a striker who performs in streaks, suggesting that when his confidence is high, he can keep the goals flowing. To improve his form, perhaps he needs to be shown the love, and that can come from supporters. If they do shower him with positivity, even if he does mess up from time to time, maybe they can draw the magic back out of him.