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Leicester City star Wilfred Ndidi recalls a special day in his life

By Harneet Singh Sethi

PETERBOROUGH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City celebrates with teammate Ben Chilwell after scoring his sides fifth goal during The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Peterborough United and Leicester City at ABAX Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Peterborough, England (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
PETERBOROUGH, ENGLAND - JANUARY 27: Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City celebrates with teammate Ben Chilwell after scoring his sides fifth goal during The Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round match between Peterborough United and Leicester City at ABAX Stadium on January 27, 2018 in Peterborough, England (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /
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Leicester City star Wilfred Ndidi has recalled the day he knew he had made the grade as a professional footballer.

Times weren’t always the same for Ndidi, who had had to fight adversities and difficulties aplenty on his way to becoming the Premier League’s defensive midfield genius.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, the 21-year old has opened up about his personal life, and that one special day in particular when he knew that had finally made it to that level where he could afford anything, something that he didn’t think would happen.

Recalling his visit to a Gucci store, he said:

"“I went into the Gucci shop and saw a sweatshirt, which most of the cool music artists in Nigeria were wearing at the time.“It was plain black and had a teddy bear on it. I thought, ‘Wow, I can really afford this’.“In fact, I knew, for the first time in my life, I could afford anything in there.“I was feeling happy because I loved that top and wanted it.“This was the first big thing I bought with my wages.”"

Wilfred Ndidi also remembers how proud he was when he bought his first pair of Nike flip flops with the prize money he got for winning the Lagos Academy League in Lagos, Nigeria.

"“I remember when I was about 14 or 15, I was at the Nath Academy and we got prize money for winning the Lagos Academy League but I could only afford a pair of flip flops.“They were Nike and I was proud to own a pair.“There are so many things I couldn’t afford.”"

Wilfred Ndidi is mostly recognised for tackling antics at Leicester City, which many have accepted him to be the best at – even better than N’Golo Kante; however, the former Genk midfielder doesn’t practice that at all. In fact, his focus mainly remains on passing the ball well, an aspect that he has improved at this season.

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"“I’ve never practised for this.I train how to perfect my passes.“When I first moved to Europe I came as a central defender. It was only in Belgium when I was converted into a central midfielder.“It was difficult because I was taught how to keep it nice and simple. I didn’t train how to make tackles. I just tried to win the ball.“I didn’t focus on the talk that I was going to be the next Kante. I just concentrated on coming in and doing my thing — to play like ‘Ndidi’. My view was as long as I did that, everything would be OK.“There was pressure joining Leicester because they were the reigning champions but it was also exciting too.“It was the perfect club for me to join because they’re one big happy family.”"

Leicester City has of course proved to be the perfect club for Wilfred Ndidi. Not only has he developed and matured as a footballer during his time at the King Power Stadium, but he has also been able to make a reputation for himself among fans all around the world.

Next: Peter Crouch names Leicester City centre-back in his team of the year

Claude Puel must brace himself for a number of offers for the Nigeria international this summer.

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