Wilfred Ndidi And Kelechi Iheanacho - Two Contrasting Fates

Published: July 10, 2020

Despite the poor resumption of season after the coronavirus lockdown, Leicester are still in the Champions League zone in the Premier League.

However, the better season was 4 years ago, when they became champions - a truly incredible achievement.

Occupying the fourth place in the standings Leicester are again among the top clubs in England, playing very open attacking football and have scored as many as 64 goals.

A record 9-0 win over Southampton in October made a big contribution to that stats

Given the poor form of traditional Champions League teams such as Arsenal and Tottenham Leicester are unlikely to have a problem returning to Europe's biggest tournament for the 2020 season.

However, a recent revival from Manchester United could become problematic.

Perhaps one of the main trump cards in the hand of the foxes is the Nigerian inner midfielder - Wilfred Ndidi.

Having signed him from the Belgian Genk in 2017 to fill the big "hole in the centre of the field left by the departure of N'Golo Kante, Ndidi managed to meet high expectations and became one of the best in his position in the Premier League.

The sky's the limit for Ndidi

Ndidi's first season was relatively good, but considering that he was in a new team and a new championship, there were some weak matches, but last year and so far during this campaign, he was just perfect.

Proof of the importance of the Nigerian is the fact that in his absence, Leicester lost several matches in the league and the midfield was heavily affected.

When on the field, he manages to break the opponent's game, create attacks, control the midfield and contribute goals.

After his role increased in the team and he became a pivotal figure, the popularity of Ndidi rose in his homeland as well.

When you are a part of the Premier League team, in this case, Leicester, the chances of having a high authority is likely.

Not only did he turn into a role model for many Nigerians, but at the same time, he managed to attract the attention of online casino providers.

Besides offering free casino bonus opportunities to people, who were placing their bets on Leicester, and in particular, Ndidi’s performance, the Nigerian supposedly got some attention and sponsorship from them as well. And Ndidi indeed lived up to his expectations.

At just 22 years old, it seems that the sky's the limit for the young midfielder and it will not be a surprise if any of the top clubs in Europe have already prepared serious sums to have him in their squad.

The name of Arsenal is most often mentioned, but other great European grands are also mentioned.

However, the fate of another young Nigerian footballer in Leicester’s squad - Kelechi Iheanacho is different. He was lured to King Power Stadium with Niddy after building a reputation as a striker in Manchester City.

The debut of the young striker in the Premier League was extremely strong as he broke several records and the most important of them was ‘the player with the best goals in terms of minutes played’.

It seemed that Iheanacho would be the new successor to Aguero.

Limited opportunities for Iheanacho

Despite the incredible performance, Iheanacho did not get enough chances to perform in City, where Guardiola is constantly expanding the lineup and moving to Leicester seemed like a pretty good decision for the young striker.

The expectations were there to form a good partnership with Vardy and to become a real goal machine. But expectations were not met.

He played a total of 16 games in his first 2 seasons with the Foxes and several for the FA Cup did not shine as there was a lot of speculation that he will be sold in 2019.

However, he remained at the club and was even praised by his manager Brendan Rodgers when he scored the equalizer against Aston Villa.

We must not forget the fact that he is still 23 and has the opportunity to turn his career around, but it is very important what choices he will make in the future - whether to stay with the Foxes or seek his fortune elsewhere.

This decision will be extremely risky for him and it can be said that his chances are similar to the chances at roulette - if he wins, that is, chooses the right move, he can win a lot and become a superstar, but if he makes a mistake he can ruin his career. no one remembers his name in a few years.

But is it time to leave?

For Iheanacho, playing time should be a priority. He has to play in a strong league for a team that does not have another such striker to be able to get enough chances.

One of the options could be the Turkish giants Besiktas, who are speculated to have an interest in the footballer.

This is not a bad option for the Nigerian, as the black and whites are suffering a lot in attack this year and this may be a good opportunity for Iheanacho to take a central role in a good European team and start scoring more regularly.

Another option is to stay in Leicester and continue to fight for the place. Brendan Rodgers said he thought Kelechi would have a long-term future with the team and insisted him to be part of it.

But is this best for the attacker himself? By staying at the club, he risks playing less in his strongest years and not developing the talent he certainly has.

Also, the development of Iheanacho is very important for the future of the Nigerian national team.

Whatever happens, one thing is for sure, Iheanacho has the necessary qualities to be one of the top strikers in Europe and the leader of his national team.

Given Ndidi's incredible form for the club and the national team, it is very important that Iheanacho also finds his rhythm and that together they become leading figures for their national team.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : lcfc.com