The Foxes place big-money price tag on player who had been linked with Celtic and Fenerbahce
Leicester City will want a fee of near £20m if they are to sell Wilfred Ndidi in the summer transfer window, Chris Gallagher reports for Football League World UK.
Leicester want substantial fee for Wilfred Ndidi
The Nigerian international joined the Foxes in January 2017 from Genk for around £17m, and he has gone on to be an important player for the club in that time.
Ndidi was influential as Brendan Rodgers’ side won the FA Cup, whilst he was excellent as they finished in the European places over the years.
However, his form dipped in the past 18 months or so, and Ndidi made 27 appearances as the Midlands outfit were relegated to the Championship.
Naturally, that cast doubt over his future, and it had been claimed that a reunion with Rodgers at Celtic could be on the cards.
But, Daily Mail reporter Tom Collomosse has revealed that Celtic, or any other club, would have to pay ‘close to £20m’ to get Ndidi from Leicester.
Will Leicester get £20m for Wilfred Ndidi?
In truth, this seems very ambitious by Leicester. Crucially, Ndidi has entered the final year of his deal, so he could sign a pre-contract with clubs outside England in January.
That obviously has a big impact on his value, along with relegation, so Leicester would be doing very well if they could recoup the money they paid for the player.
That doesn’t mean the offers won’t arrive, and if interest emerges from Saudi Arabia, Leicester could potentially ask for even more. But, realistically, they’re going to struggle to get to near £20m for Ndidi at the moment.
Could Wilfred Ndidi stay at Leicester?
Following on from that, you have to say it’s a real possibility that he remains at the King Power Stadium, unless Leicester drop their demands.
That’s a real possibility, as if fresh terms can’t be agreed with Ndidi, the club surely won’t want to lose the player on a free in 12 months time.
If he did move on, it would be a blow for Enzo Maresca, as Ndidi could potentially be a key player for him. But, he has been used in a box-to-box role in recent friendlies, so you could argue that Leicester would be better off using any funds from his sale to bring in someone more suited to that position.
Leicester City summer transfer plans
It was always going to be a busy window for Leicester after relegation, and there needed to be a focus on bringing money in, which the departures of James Maddison and Harvey Barnes have done.
Maresca still has a big squad, and he will want to move players on to ensure he can bring in his own new signings, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ndidi did go due to his contract situation.
So, this is one to monitor in the coming weeks, and it will be interesting to see what happens, and whether Ndidi pushes to secure a move away this summer.
Leicester’s first game is against Coventry City on August 6.
