AS second-placed Leicester City travel to Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium to play one of their toughest match in the English Premier League (EPL), the Foxes will hope Wilfred Ndidi will be at his usual defensive best against the reigning English champions.
Third-placed Manchester City and Leicester City go head-to-head in a top of the table clash in the Premier League this afternoon in what is expected to be a cracking affair as both teams are looking to close the gap on runaway leaders Liverpool.
The Nigeria international has established himself as one of the key players for Brendan Rodgers side and his services will be desperately needed against the league’s most prolific attack.
Manchester City has already blasted 47 goals past opposition goalkeepers in just 16 games and came off an impressive 3-0 win at Arsenal last weekend.
Ndidi, who recently clocked 23, was recently voted the seventh best player in the premier league and Leicester’s best after Jamie Vardy in a recent poll.
Ndidi joined Leicester from Genk in the Belgium league and the midfielder has blossomed to become one of the best midfielders in the League.
The former Nath Boys player has been a regular for the Foxes since 2017 and has been influential in Brendan Rodgers’ side this season, which boast the best defensive record so far.
The energetic midfielder has missed just one Premier League fixture so far, helping Leicester to second in the table after 17 rounds.
Under Rodgers, Ndidi has vastly improved as a player and this season Ndidi has been on top of his game, ranking top in many stats available.
In Leicester’s last league game against Norwich last weekend, Ndidi made the most tackles and the most interceptions. He recovered possession of the ball more times than anyone else on the pitch and he rarely lost it.
Ndidi is second the Premier League rankings in tackles in the league (72) two behind teammate Ricardo Pereira on 74 and is top in interceptions at 47. He is also recording 2.3 clearances per game – a moderate rate for a central defensive midfielder. He has won 6.0 ground duels per game at a 58.0 per cent success rate, which is a career high.He also leads the league in total defensive duels won with 180.
Little wonder it has been reported that Arsenal’s new coach Mikel Arteta has marked the ex-junior international as a prime target in the January transfer window.
Arteta might reportedly use former captain Granit Xhaka as a bargaining chip to bring Ndidi to London in a cash plus player deal.
According to transfermarkt.de, online financial experts on sports-related deals, Ndidi has seen his value rise from €35 million to €45 million (approximately N17.73 billion in Nigerian currency) and is now the most expensive Nigerian player in the English premier league with Everton’s Alex Iwobi, who is rated at €32 million (N13 Billion), is in second place.
