Ndidi and Tielemans: the Yin and Yang of Leicester’s midfield

Leicester City’s excellent transfer policy has been praised continuously over the years, but two signings alone sum up the largely shrewd recruitment at the club. It is incredibly satisfying to know that the Foxes signed Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans for the combined sum of £55m, and managed to get £80m for Harry Maguire.

There have been some major flops that need no mentioning, but let’s take a moment to appreciate Leicester’s dynamic midfield duo, the pride and joy of Jon Rudkin and the backroom staff.

Wilfred Ndidi

Ndidi’s strengths are easy to see, but the impact they have on the game. According to Whoscored, he averages 3.6 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game, the most in the whole league. This is despite him being injured for a substantial part of the early season.

These statistics help to outline his defensive prowess, but only offer a glimpse of the destructive presence he provides in game. Ndidi’s ability to snuff out threats in transition often prevents dangerous attacks even materialising which give Leicester much-improved control of the game.

Whilst his weaknesses are to be found in his passing, he has certainly improved massively, with his pass completion increasing from 75.9% in his first season, to 87.3%. Furthermore, against Man United on Tuesday, Ndidi showed excellent use of his body and the ball to escape pressure and win fouls, emphasising the improving technical side of his game. Under Brendan Rodgers, it is no surprise Ndidi has further developed this area, with the Northern Irishman emphasising a desire for his players to be comfortable on the ball.

That being said, ‘Wilf’ has much to learn in this department, with the Nigerian still being guilty of misplacing simple passes, and often taking ill-advised attempts on goal. Yet, he is only human after all, so we must not be too exacting with our criticism!