Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri has confirmed that newly-signed Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has secured a work permit and will be handed an instant debut when the Champions face Everton in the FA Cup clash today.
The 20-year-old defensive midfielder joined the Foxes from Belgian club KRC Genk on a five-and-a-half-year deal said to be worth around £15 million but was still a doubt as the side tried to secure a work permit.
Ranieri has however confirmed the completion of all the necessary paper work which makes the Super Eagles midfielder available for selection today.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Ranieri confirmed his availability saying,
“Everything with the work permit is OK,”
[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]“He trained today. He is available for Saturday and all is fine”[/perfectpullquote]
Ranieri was also quick to play down media comparisons of the young midfielder to Ngolo Kante saying the player is something different all together.
Ranieri played down the comparisons saying,
“He is not another N’golo Kante. He is another kind of player; he’s totally different.”
“But like Kante, he recovers a lot of balls.”
“I am sure that very soon, he will understand the Premier League.”
“Ndidi is a very impressive player with a great future.”
“He has a very good leap and is a very good header of the ball. He moves the ball very quickly and recovers a lot of balls.”
He concluded saying,
“We kept tabs on him (before we signed him). I hope he can quickly impress all our fans.”
A lot of big teams wanted him, but he prefers to come with us to improve.”
Ndindi joined team mates on Thursday for training and was quick to make an impression at his new side.
The highly rated young midfielder looks like he will be a revelation at the King Power and at his age, the sky is the limit to what he can accomplish.
Featured Photo: Courtesy of Twitter
