Leicester City Coach Insists Wilfred Ndidi Is Still Important

The head coach of Leicester City, Enzo Maresca, has stated that Wilfred Ndidi is still an important player for the Foxes despite Cesare Casadei’s loan signing from Chelsea.

The addition of Casadei to the squad has further reduced Ndidi’s chances of playing regularly because the Foxes now have seven players who could occupy the club’s three-man midfield.

The Italian midfielder secured a one-year loan contract with the Foxes following a great preseason with Chelsea and a superb Under-20 World Cup performance, in which he was named the best player and Golden Boot winner after helping Italy to a second-place finish.

Hence, his arrival at Leicester City is expected to be a threat to Wilfred Ndidi who had scored one goal in three appearances (two in the English Championship and one in the Carabao Cup) so far in the 2023-2024 season.

However, Maresca admits that even though the 26-year-old Nigerian midfielder has played only 154 of a possible 270 minutes of football so far this season, he is eager to keep him since he is growing into a box-to-box midfielder.

In an interview with Leicester City Mercury, coach Maresca said, “Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is one of the most important players, for sure. But for me, Wilfred is very important.

“He’s trying to do something that he never has before, to arrive in the box and to try to be an offensive midfielder. He’s doing very well at that.”

Ndidi, who is renowned for his tackling ability, has played as a central -midfielder under Maresca and even as an attacking midfielder in the Foxes’ victory over Burton in the Carabao Cup, where he scored one goal in the 2-0 victory.

Ndidi has a year left on his contract and has been at the King Power Stadium since 2017, but he hasn’t made up his mind on his future with the team yet.

Amidst that, Turkish football giants, Fenerbahce have reportedly shown interest in the Nigeria international this summer but nothing concrete yet.