The Ndidi-Sized hole in Leicester City midfield needs filling.

The Europa League game away at Spartak Moscow is the latest free scoring fixture that Leicester City have been involved in recently. Having to come from two goals down to earn the three points in a game that ended 4-3 was no easy feat. It required an excellent performance from the Foxes' new boy, Patson Daka to rescue them from the clutches of ignoble defeat in Moscow.

A similar scenario played out over the last weekend when they hosted Manchester United in the Premier League. Having gone behind to a wonderful Mason Greenwood strike, the Foxes had to again find their way back into the game to earn an emphatic win against the Red Devils. This indicates a trend that has made games more difficult for the former Premier League champions to approach in a rather difficult season.

These uncharacteristic performances have coincided with the prolonged absence of their midfield lynchpin, Wilfried Ndidi, who has been a reliable rock at the base of the Foxes' midfield over the past few seasons. His efforts in shielding the defense from attacking threats of opposition teams have reflected in his tackling stats over the last 3 Premier League seasons. His efforts have helped him top the charts of the most successful tackles in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons and came second to Manchester United's Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the 2019/20 season.

Ndidi's spell on the sidelines will still go on for a while and crunch fixtures against Brentford and Arsenal are still on the horizon. The efforts of Youri Tielemans have been immense from deep but being partnered with the likes of Boubakary Soumare or Hamza Choudhury just seems to be quite limiting. The Foxes' boss will need to find a way to keep things tight if they intend to pick up points from their next few matches before the Super Eagles midfielder makes his long-awaited return.

Rodgers in the past has claimed that Ndidi is just irreplaceable in midfield, a claim supported by the Nigerian being the first name on the team sheet over time.

Brendan once said of the midfielder:

"Of course, on set pieces, he’s very dominant. You can see, bringing him into the team, the profile he gives you in your box when you’re defending.

"From a defensive perspective, he’s irreplaceable with what he gives you, in terms of energy and desire to get the ball back. Just his personality in the game is so great for us.

"It’s great to have him back. We’re obviously trying to manage his time coming back in there, but he’s a colossal player."

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"Babafemi Busari is a passionate writer whose experience writing across several niches bring unique perspectives to familiar subjects."

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