Club career
Tranmere Rovers
Ihiekwe signed a two-year deal with League Two club Tranmere Rovers on 18 June 2014. [16] Manager Rob Edwards said that "he reads the game well and is a play with lots of potential". [17] Ihiekwe made his debut at Prenton Park on the opening game of the season, a 1–1 draw against York City, where he played 90 minutes. [18] On 1 November, Ihiekwe scored his first goal in professional football, in a 2–2 draw with Stevenage. [19] However, he suffered ankle injury during a match against Cambridge United after a challenge that saw him stretchered off the field. [20] The injury was not serious [21] and he made his return to the first-team weeks later. [22] His return was short-lived as he suffered an injury three weeks later. [23] He regained his first-team place towards the end of the 2014–15 season, playing 46 games in total, [2] but was unable to help manager Micky Adams to avoid relegation to the Conference Premier (to be renamed as the National League). [24]
Ihiekwe adapted well to non-League football, scoring his first goal of the 2015–16 season in a 4–1 win over Gateshead. [25] However, he was soon sidelined for months with a hamstring injury. [26] After making his first-team return in a 1–1 draw against FC Halifax Town on 19 December, [27] Ihiekwe scored his second goal of the season seven days later in a 2–1 win over Macclesfield Town. [28] He retained his first-team place for the whole season, as he made 35 league appearances. [2] Ihiekwe was offered a new contract [29] and signed a one-year contract extension in June. [30]
On 1 October 2016, he received the first red card of his career for a trip in a goalless draw at Dagenham & Redbridge. [4] [2] As the 2016–17 season progressed under new manager Micky Mellon, Ihiekwe began to play in a full-back position, rather than at centre-back as he had played under the management of Gary Brabin. [31] Tranmere ended the season with ten clean sheets in 20 matches as Ihiekwe formed a solid centre-back partnership with Steve McNulty. [32] He scored a brace against Sutton United on 3 April. [33] He played in the 2017 National League play-off final at Wembley Stadium, which ended in a 3–1 defeat to Forest Green Rovers. [34] Despite the defeat, he had impressed Rotherham United manager Paul Warne, who attended the game to scout Christian Doidge. [3] Tranmere offered Ihiekwe a new contract, but he opted to move on after securing an offer from a club in the Football League. [35] [36]
Rotherham United
On 25 May 2017, League One club Rotherham United announced that Ihiekwe had joined on a two-year contract. [36] He made 35 appearances in the 2017–18 campaign, scoring one goal. [2] Rotherham won the 2018 League One play-off final to secure promotion into the Championship, though Ihiekwe was not in the matchday squad due to injury despite playing in both legs of the semi-final victory over Scunthorpe United; he had scored an own goal for Scunthorpe in the first leg at the New York Stadium. [37] [2] [3]
On 24 August 2018, Ihiekwe joined League Two club Accrington Stanley on loan until 2 January 2019, with manager John Coleman looking to strengthen the Reds defence. [38] [39] He enjoyed his time at the Crown Ground, featuring 23 times as he aimed to impress Rotherham boss Paul Warne. [3] [40] Coleman had hoped to extend the loan. [41] Warne refused as wished to play Ihiekwe himself, though stated that the loan had been "massive" for the player's development. [42] He impressed playing in the Championship for Rotherham in the second half of the 2018–19 season despite it ending in relegation back to League One. [3]
Ihiekwe signed a contract extension in October 2019. [43] He was named on the EFL Team of the Season after the 2019–20 campaign was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in England. [44] He was ruled out of action after suffering knee ligament damage in February, though the pandemic meant that he missed only a minimal amount of games. [45] He also won the club's Player of the Year award and was named on the PFA Team of the Year for League One, alongside teammate Matt Crooks. [45] Rotherham were promoted back to the Championship in second-place after club's voted to end the season on a points per game basis. [46]
He featured 44 times in the 2020–21 campaign, [47] which ended in relegation back down to League One. [48] He played in the 2022 EFL Trophy final, as Rotherham won the trophy with a 4–2 victory over Sutton United, with Ihiekwe scoring the final goal with a header in extra-time. [49] He rejected talks on a new contract during the 2021–22 campaign as he claimed he did not want negotiations to distract him from the club's push for promotion. [50] He scored five goals in 52 appearances as United secured an automatic promotion place with the division's best defensive record and he was again named on the PFA Team of the Year. [51] [17] He was offered a new contract on improved terms, which he rejected. [52] In total, he made 184 appearances for the Millers, scoring 14 goals and providing 10 assists. [53]
Sheffield Wednesday
On 22 June 2022, Ihiekwe was announced to be dropping back into League One to join Sheffield Wednesday following the expiration of his Rotherham United contract. [54] He arrived at the club alongside Rotherham teammate Michael Smith, much to Rotherham fan's ire. [55] [56] Manager Darren Moore confirmed that Ihiekwe has sustained knee ligament damage on 3 December and would have an extended stay in the recovery room. [57] He returned to the squad on 10 April against Burton Albion. [58] He went on to play in the 2023 League One play-off final as promotion was secured with a 1–0 extra-time victory over Barnsley. [59] He won 14 aerial duels in the final, belying the fact that it was only his fourth game back after spending much of the 2022–23 season out injured. [55]
Having been sidelined by Xisco Muñoz, who moved the defence into a back four, [60] he was returned to the starting eleven for caretaker manager Neil Thompson's one game in charge on 7 October, a goalless draw with Huddersfield Town. [61] [62] However, he continued to be sidelined for most of the first half of the 2023–24 season before establishing himself as a key member of the defence following a solid performance away at Preston North End. [55] He helped the Owls to escape relegation at the end of the campaign, playing 26 Championship games in all. [55] [2]
He went three-and-a-half months without starting a game before becoming a key performer in the second half of the 2024–25 season, pleasing manager Danny Röhl with his "adaptability and attitude" after being reinstated away at Leeds United. [2] [63] Röhl preferred to play Di'Shon Bernard and Max Lowe at centre-back. [64] Ihiekwe had been strongly linked with a move away from the club during the January transfer window during his lengthy absence from matchday league squads as the club were open to offers. [65] [66] He scored twice in March against Norwich City and Cardiff City, winning the club's Player of the Month award, and was also nominated for the EFL Player of the Month award. [67] [68] [69] He was released from his contract following the end of the 2024–25 season. [70] In total, he made 312 league clearances and won 389 aerial duels for the club, scoring three goals in 83 league and cup appearances. [55] [2]
Blackpool
Ihiekwe joined Blackpool on 1 July 2025, having signed a three-year contract on 4 June. [71] He made his debut, starting the game in the 2–3 defeat against Stevenage on the opening day of the season. [72]
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