Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has signed a new contract with Leicester City that will keep him at the club until 2024.
The 21-year-old arrived at the King Power Stadium from Belgian side Genk in 2017, and has stepped in admirably in the role vacated by N’Golo Kante’s departure to Chelsea after their title-winning season.
Ndidi has played over 60 games for the Foxes and has been named their Young Player of the Year for the past two seasons.
He has also become a regular for Nigeria’s Super Eagles, and featured in all three their games at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“I have enjoyed every moment of my time with the Football Club, so I’m thrilled to be here for six more years. Together with my team-mates and our wonderful supporters, I hope we can look forward to many more fantastic moments,” he told Leicester’s official website.
Genk agreed a £17 million transfer deal with English champions Leicester City.The deal was confirmed on 5 January 2017.
Ndidi made his debut for the club on 7 January 2017, in a 2–1 win against Everton in the third round of the FA Cup. He made his first Premier League start on 14 January 2017 against Chelsea at home in a 3–0 defeat.[13] In the English FA Cup game against Derby County on 8 February 2017, Ndidi came on in the first half of extra time and scored his first goal for Leicester through a long-range shot.[14] In a 3–1 win over Liverpool on 27 February 2017, Ndidi won 11 of his 14 tackles, a feat bettered only by Chelsea’s N’Golo Kanté who made 14 tackles against the same club in January.
Ndidi got his first career red card in a 3–0 loss to Crystal Palace on 16 December 2017 – which also happens to be his birthday.
Ndidi was part of the Nigerian youth setup during his time at Nathaniel Boys of Lagos. While playing the African U-17 Championship with Nigeria, he was excluded along with two other players from the competition as a precaution, following an MRI age test that suggested he was just slightly above the threshold. Notwithstanding, he joined up with his teammates in the U-20 team the following year, forming the bedrock of the midfield. He was called up to the Senior Nigeria national football team on 8 October 2015, making his debut in the friendly game against DR Congo, and playing again a few days later in the 3–0 win against Cameroon, when he replaced John Obi Mikel in the 63rd minute.
He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.
In May 2018 he was named in Nigeria’s preliminary 30 man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia