The Leicester City midfielder was linked with Newcastle United earlier in the season.
Leicester City have discovered the hard way this season that N’Golo Kante really is one of a kind. However, the early indications are that January signing Wilfred Ndidi could offer at least a passable replacement for one of world football’s most complete footballers.
And you would hope so too, considering that Leicester invested a reported £15 million to bring the 20-year-old over to England from Belgian side Genk. Newcastle United, then, will be regretting their failure to pull out all the stops and swoop for him in January.
Although departure of previous Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri and the appointment of former assistant Craig Shakespeare as boss has been identified as the major reason behind Leicester’s recent revival, Ndidi’s gradually improving performances have certainly helped too.
The youngster’s irrepressible performance in the 3-1 win against Liverpool last month, characterised by the snapping and the pressing that made Kante into a Premier League phenomenon, is perhaps the most memorable of his 13 games in Leicester colours.
Yet, his goalscoring display in Saturday’s 2-0 triumph over Stoke City offered the clearest indication yet of why the champions signed him for such a huge fee – and why Newcastle were reportedly keen.
Winning two tackles, making four interceptions, posting an 84% pass completion rate and opening the scoring with a thunderbolt long-range strike, Ndidi offered something close to the perfect midfield performance against Mark Hughes’ visitors. Like Kante, he is not merely a one-man wrecking ball but a well-rounded midfielder capable of contributing at either end.
How Newcastle could do with a player of his qualities. Yet, according to The Chronicle, they might have had one. The newspaper claims that Newcastle had identified Ndidi as a potential January target and that Genk were willing to listen to offers of just £8 million last November.
Not one of the midfielders at Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez’s disposal possess a skillset as wide as Ndidi’s, and doubts persist over whether Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Colback, Isaac Hayden and Mo Diame can perform consistently in the Premier League.
It’s fair to say Leicester don’t have those same concerns over Ndidi.
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