Wilfed Ndidi: Leicester midfielder rising above N'Golo Kante comparisons

[merlin1969]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50827313

 

 

 

Wilfred Ndidi has probably got a little tired of hearing N'Golo Kante's name over the past couple of years.

After all, since the 22-year-old defensive midfielder joined Leicester in January 2017 he has regularly found himself compared to the Chelsea midfielder, who was an instrumental part of the Foxes' title-winning team in 2015-16.

But maybe now is the time for the comparisons to stop.

Ndidi is not just filling the void left by Kante, he has developed into one of the best players in his position and is arguably the fulcrum in a Leicester team that is fighting for a top-four finish in the Premier League and at one stage looked like battling with Liverpool for top spot.

It is also probably no coincidence that Leicester's title challenge - admittedly unlikely against an imperious Liverpool side - faded when Ndidi suffered an injury in early January.

His return is significant for the Foxes, who beat West Ham 4-1 on his comeback last week to end a three-game winless run, and who face Aston Villa in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Tuesday with the tie level at 1-1.

So how did Ndidi develop into one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe? It all started with a ball made of Sellotape...

Makeshift footballs and strict discipline - where it all began

There is something simplistic yet regimented about Ndidi's role on the pitch - break up attacks, win back possession and pass. Rinse and repeat.

The type of footballer he is can perhaps be traced back to his upbringing.

Born in 1996 to a military father, Ndidi grew up in a Lagos barracks. Discipline and education were the priority while football was a passion his father frowned upon.

"Any time my dad went to work I would go and play," Ndidi said in an interview with BBC World Service.

"I would then get the signal that he was coming and go back to what I was doing, so he didn't know I'd been playing. I got caught several times but was still going. I love football. I just want to play."

While many of his Leicester team-mates started their careers in the academies of professional football clubs, Ndidi's football education came on the roads around the military barracks he grew up in.

"We would wrap sheets of papers up and using Sellotape make it into a ball," he adds. "There was no money to buy footballs.

"We played on the main road, using two tyres as goals. The big guys were using the good pitch, we had nothing to use and just played on the road."

It was during these formative years that Ndidi came across a person who he credits as one of the most influential in his career.

Coaching the army barracks youth team was former Nigeria international Nduka Ugbade, a tough disciplinarian who pushed the young players to their limits both physically and mentally.

"Ugbade is one of the biggest names in African football," Africa-based sports journalist Oluwashina Okeleji tells BBC Sport.

"His opinion is respected and if he speaks to you, you listen. There is no limit with him. No excuses. He is a hard trainer but will not stretch you beyond your ability."

Still, the tough training was too much for some but, as a skinny teenager who was also smaller than his peers, Ndidi felt such a work ethic would benefit him.

'Take the ball and pass' - keeping it simple pays dividends

The discipline he developed from being coached by Ugbade meant he treated every game equally - competitive or friendly - and his big chance to impress the wider world came in a tournament in Nigeria, where international scouts were watching.

"There were about 40 teams that came for the tournament," says Ndidi. "I got the ball and made a run, a one-two run into the middle. I gave a simple pass to the striker. No-one had seen him so I just gave it to him between the defenders and he went and scored. That was the only game I played."

For Roland Janssen, a Genk scout at the tournament, that one game was enough. Impressed with the teenager's work rate he invited Ndidi for a trial with the Belgian side.

"When I came to Belgium the coach was Alex McLeish and he was putting me at right-back and left-back," Ndidi continues.

"Then a new coach came in and put me in midfield but it was so strange because the first game I played there I was substituted in the 32nd minute.

"After that I went back to basics - take the ball, look around, pass, take the ball, look around, pass."

'Kante is brilliant but there's no-one better than Ndidi'

Keeping it simple has undoubtedly worked wonders for Ndidi and statistically he is now one of the best players in his position.

Such is his influence that when he missed three games this month for Leicester through injury, the Foxes failed to win any of them.

He missed two Premier League matches during that spell on the sidelines yet still tops the table for most tackles made in the top flight. And by some distance.

Most tackles in the Premier League (midfielders)
Player	Tackles
Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester)	86
Joao Moutinho (Wolves)	65
James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)	62
Emiliano Buendia (Norwich)	57
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Southampton)	57

"I think he is the best in the Premier League at tackling and winning the ball back," Ndidi's team-mate James Maddison told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast.

"Kante is a brilliant player but actually winning the ball back and taking the ball off the opposition I don't think there is anyone better than Wilfred.

"Sometimes you get a player like that and what he does doesn't get talked about on the back pages, it doesn't maybe get talked about on Match of the Day.

"However, us as team-mates know what he does and it lets players like myself and Youri Tielemans do our thing higher up the pitch because we know we have that solidarity behind us."

Stopping attacks while studying at university

 

 

Ndidi's statistics are all the more impressive when you consider he is combining being the best defensive midfielder in Europe with studying for a degree.

Having found himself with plenty of spare time after training, Ndidi last year enrolled onto a business management course at De Montfort University in Leicester.

"It is easy to get carried away with the bright lights of the big cities when you move to England, but that's not Ndidi," continues Okeleji.

"He is learning how to invest his money properly. Legends of the game have struggled in Africa after their playing careers have come to an end.

"Instead of going home and watching films he wanted to do something productive with his time.

"He may sometimes play PlayStation with his friends but otherwise it is just about football and studying."

'He wants to be his own man'

It takes a lot to frustrate Ndidi, described by those who see him behind the scenes at Leicester as one of the most laid-back players at the club.

At Genk, he was nicknamed Teddy Bear because of his calm demeanour and ability to take being the butt of some of the team's jokes in good humour.

But comparisons with Kante are one thing he struggles to smile about.

"Any time someone mentions it to him it does upset him a bit," adds Okeleji.

"There is obviously great respect there but now he wants to be his own man. He feels he has established himself in his own right."

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/5082731

 

 

Edited 28 January 2020 by merlin1969

[Nicolo Barella]

4 minutes ago, merlin1969 said:

"However, us as team-mates know what he does and it lets players like myself and Youri Tielemans do our thing higher up the pitch because we know we have that solidarity behind us."

 

Comrade Ndidi

[Nicolo Barella]

In all seriousness great article

[Katy]

Sarri broke Kante. I actually think Wilf is better now. 

Edited 28 January 2020 by Katy
I obviously meant Sarri, only an idiot would say Seri. Oh.

[Sol thewall Bamba]

I love him. 

[Toddybad]

3 minutes ago, Katy said:

Seri broke Kante. I actually think Wilf is better now. 

What do you mean by this?

[StriderHiryu]

Ndidi has played like 4 times as many games for us than Kante. N’golo was part of a legendary side but Wilf has done more for us overall than Kante has, and is still with us even if the vultures will no doubt be circling. 

 

Also on current form he’s a better player than Kante. 

[Nicolo Barella]

2 minutes ago, Toddybad said:

What do you mean by this?

Perhaps he refers to Sarri, who expanded Kante's game and rounded him as a player, and not Seri, the former Fulham player who has nothing to do with him

[Toddybad]

1 minute ago, Nicolo Barella said:

Perhaps he refers to Sarri, who expanded Kante's game and rounded him as a player, and not Seri, the former Fulham player who has nothing to do with him

That would make sense.

I was thinking Kante must've had a real stinker against Fulham for it to have affected his career!

Edited 28 January 2020 by Toddybad

[HighPeakFox]

The only thing wrong about that article is equating our loss of form with the injury - the form was lost well before that.

[Les-TA-Jon]

Do we even need to compare them? Ndidi is a holding midfielder, Kante is a box to box player. 

[Katy]

16 minutes ago, Toddybad said:

What do you mean by this?

Sorry, I meant Sarri 🤦🏻‍♀️
 

13 minutes ago, Nicolo Barella said:

Perhaps he refers to Sarri, who expanded Kante's game and rounded him as a player, and not Seri, the former Fulham player who has nothing to do with him

I’m female and yes, spot on! 

[Deeg67]

Ndidi is a terrific holding midfielder, but Kante is - when at his best, which he was for an extended period - arguably the best player in the world.  I don't think it's any slight to Wilf to state that there's no way he's on par with Kante.

[Katy]

Just now, Deeg67 said:

Ndidi is a terrific holding midfielder, but Kante is - when at his best, which he was for an extended period - arguably the best player in the world.  I don't think it's any slight to Wilf to state that there's no way he's on par with Kante.

At his best, yes, but as I explained (horrendously poorly) in my previous post SARRI ruined him by messing about with where he plays and stifling him - im not sure he’s fully recovered from that yet. 

[Deeg67]

1 minute ago, Katy said:

At his best, yes, but as I explained (horrendously poorly) in my previous post SARRI ruined him by messing about with where he plays and stifling him - im not sure he’s fully recovered from that yet. 

But his being off form is not the same as saying Wilf is a better (or even equal) player.

 

And for the record, I'd still take Kante on his current form (which I agree isn't tip-top).  Kante at 80% is still better than Wilf and probably 97% of the midfielders in the world.

[Katy]

1 minute ago, Deeg67 said:

But his being off form is not the same as saying Wilf is a better (or even equal) player.

 

And for the record, I'd still take Kante on his current form (which I agree isn't tip-top).  Kante at 80% is still better than Wilf and probably 97% of the midfielders in the world.

No but Wilf is our player and Kante chose to leave so I’m going to stick up for him. If, hypothetically, Kante can’t regain the form he had with us then Wilf has the potential to overtake him, in my opinion, nobody has to agree. I loved Kante and still do and it makes me sad that he’s not the player he once was - as it stands.

[Guest MattP]

Sarri's destruction job on Kante is as bad as the destruction job Houllier did on Heskey.

 

Sarri took the best defensive midfielder in the World and thought he could turn him into Micheal Essien. 

 

Heskey was a more polished Adam Traore with even more potential before Houllier got hold of him and turned him into a battering ram for Michael Owen. Emile could have been anything as well, such a shame.

 

A lesson in both of those for N'didi - leave him alone and let him develop.

[The boy Linacre]

What has totally changed this season is not only will he "take the ball of you", somebody has coached him in the last 12 months how to pass efficiently and effectively without giving the ball away, allied to his tackling and interceptions without generally getting booked that have got even cleverer and better.
He has really loved on since Brendan joined, maybe formation, maybe coaching, maybe him, not sure but massively more effective.

[Mike Oxlong]

1 hour ago, Katy said:

Seri broke Kante. I actually think Wilf is better now. 

 

1 hour ago, Nicolo Barella said:

Perhaps he refers to Sarri, who expanded Kante's game and rounded him as a player, and not Seri, the former Fulham player who has nothing to do with him

 

1 hour ago, Katy said:

Sorry, I meant Sarri 🤦🏻‍♀️
 

I’m female and yes, spot on! 

 

 

[Katy]

4 minutes ago, Mike Oxlong said:

 

 

 

 

Yes, that traditionally male name - Katy 💁🏻‍♀️

[Mike Oxlong]

3 minutes ago, Katy said:

Yes, that traditionally male name - Katy 💁🏻‍♀️

Surprised and a little disappointed that I’ve not been asked for my cup size 

Edited 28 January 2020 by Mike Oxlong

[Katy]

Well at least Madders agrees with me 😂

[fuchsntf]

The Best comparison.....He s  been Happy to Stay and Play at Leicester....

Kante was the catalyst for a single Surprise title.

Ndidi might be the catalyst for a Never before seen Leicester successful Epoc......!!!

 

 

Edited 28 January 2020 by fuchsntf

[PhillippaT]

5 hours ago, Mike Oxlong said:

Surprised and a little disappointed that I’ve not been asked for my cup size 

She left you a mule to ride...

 

EDIT: Should I explain where this comes from?

Edited 28 January 2020 by PhillippaT

[drofmor55]

Martin Keown compared Wilfred Ndidi to Patrick Vieira..a player who shielded the Arsenal back four in the year of the invincibles...that is some praise