Wilfried Ndidi: An effective replacement of N'golo kante

Wilfried Ndidi - Tactical Profile

Leicester have found their new N'golo Kante

Many questions were asked of then Premier League champions Leicester City as they allowed one of the stars of their historic title-winning season in Ngolo Kante to move to Chelsea for £32m. Although The Foxes managed to keep hold of other crucial players like Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez, the Leicester midfield began to show signs of weakness as the foxes endured a mixed season as they finished 12th in the defense of their title. Although it is seemingly impossible to replace a player of Kante’s calibre, Wilfred Ndidi was brought in during the January transfer window of 2017 – signing from Belgian side Genk for £17m and helped steady the Leicester ship as they quickly eased any fears of a relegation battle.

But Ndidi has shown his true colours in the 17/18 premier league season.Just within one and a half year Ndidi has grown an important part of the leicester team with manager Claude Puel stating that Ndidi was the most consistent player in the entire season.Ndidi is second in no of tackles won in the top five leagues in europe just  behind Filipe Luis of Athletico Madrid.

Ndidi started out his career as a centre back playing for Nigerain side Nath Boys, but quickly showed the kind of shooting and passing ability that, combined with his strength and size, would be the makings of a powerful defensive midfilder. 

 Strengths

Ndidi has completed the most no of successful tackles in premier legaue of 138 averaging 4.2 tackles per game.But unlike N'golo kante, Ndidi has a towering presence in air winning 3.5 aerial duels per game and making 1.5 interceptions per game.But his performances in world cup are even better than his domestic record.Though Nigeria were knocked out in the group stages, Ndidi won 5 tackles per game along with 4 interceptions each game.Ndidi averages 5.7 aerials won per game a stat which seems hard to belive given that he is only 21.

Ndidi completed an average 2.4 accurate long balls per game which increased to 3.7 in the world cup.

Ndidi can also dribble well completing and average 1.3 and 1.7 dribbles per game in premier league and world cup respectively.

Ndidi bagged 3 assists this season at leicester.He mainly wins the ball back to start counter attacks which then lead into goals.After winning the ball back he either plays it long for Mahrez or passes it to Albrighton who then crosses it to either to Vardy or Mahrez or plays it to an overlapping fullback.

His presence in the field helps players like Maguire to push forward and help in attacks.
TACTICAL ROLE
Ndidi has  a very important role in buildup.To understand this let us have a look how Leicester attack.Leicester's aim is to create overloads in wide spaces at pace before bringing the ball back inside  to create shooting opportunities
As such they sometimes concentrate at one side of the pitch witch central midfielders playing on one side of the pitch with the aim of creating space on the opposite flank.This means Leicester have overload on one flank and space on the other both of which can offer attacking opportunities especially on the counter.Ndidi mostly plays on the overload side with the aim of either shifting the ball to Albrighton by playing it long or act as a pivot between the attacking midfielders to shift the play around the 18 yard box.Ndidi also patrols the area in front of the center backs in case the opponent team counters quickly.

Weaknesses

Ndidi doesn't has any significant technical weakness though pass accuracy is an area where he could look to improve, as he is currently ranked 13th with an average pass succession rate of 76%. But more often than not if he misplaces a pass, there’s a strong chance he’ll win it back for his side.His pass accuracy in world cup was 81%.If he can improve on that he will certainly be one of the best defensive midfielders in the world.

Also Discipline is an issue for Ndidi as he picked 8 yellow and 2 red cards.His first red came on his 21 birthday which will be hard for him to forget.Last season Ndidi played 17 matches compared to 33 this season but was never booked. 

Conclusion-Ndidi is still young but the maturity displayed by him is beyond his age.At still 21 and with many years ahead it doesn't seems like he would remain at leicester for a long time.His tackles,vision and aerials this season have shown that he can fit in any of the best lineups of Europe.