Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers believes Kelechi Iheanacho is finally proving his worth after netting the equaliser against Aston Villa.

Since arriving from Manchester City in the summer of 2017 in a £25million deal, the striker has failed to justify his price-tag and has been the subject of criticism from some quarters.

However, this season Iheanacho has six goals in eight appearances, the latest of which came on Wednesday night after he stepped off the bench to earn Leicester a 1-1 draw in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

It was the 23-year-old's third goal in the competition and Rodgers is pleased to see Iheanacho reaping the reward for his hard work.

"We relied on some blocks and some good saves from Orjan (Nyland) and all in all it was a really good defensive performance and that is testament to the players."

Nyland made a couple of good saves to deny Jamie Vardy in the first half before thwarting James Maddison late on as Leicester pushed for a winning goal.

Smith said: "He is a good goalkeeper. He snapped his Achilles when he was playing really well in the Championship and he has had to be patient and work his way back.

"He made some really good saves when he was called up on. It was a really mature performance, but let's not forget that he is an international goalkeeper."