Leicester City of England midfielder, Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi has come out with another bold declaration that he is not aiming to fill anybody’s shoes with the former English Premier League champions, but stressed that he is only trying to make his own marks with the squad, megasportsarena.com reports.
With debate still lingering over comparisons between him and The Foxes’ former midfield battler, N’Golo Kante, Ndidi reiterated that he is a different player from the French ace, who he admitted is excelling in the niche he set for himself, but says another player need not copy him.
The Super Eagles’ star also took a look back at his early days in England, and recalled that he put it on top of his mind to face up squarely to the challenge embraced the prospect of proving his mettle with The Foxes, once they made an offer to buy him from Racing Genk of Belgium.
He recounted further that he considered the transfer to Leicester as a rare opportunity to make progress in his career and he told himself that he must not get carried away with pleasure or bow under pressure, especially after spending three seasons at Genk, who let him go in 2017, in a shock transfer deal worth £17m.
At that time, King Power Stadium side were reigning EPL champions and needed a replacement for Kante, who had joined Chelsea on a five-year deal, before which the French star played a key starring role in Leicester’s English top-flight-winning campaign with 40 sterling appearances.
In further retrospect, the 23-year-old Ndidi confessed that it was not easy for him to quickly adapt to life at King Power Stadium, but the product of Lagos-based Nath Boys Academy said he was determined to embrace fully the opportunity to develop himself and meet all expectations.
Ndidi old told Out of Home Podcast: “I was comfortable at Genk but it was like an opportunity for me to actually develop in my career. It was the right time for me to go because the club wanted me to progress in my career.
“The pressure I got was that they just won the league, Kante left and they were looking for a replacement. Seeing this whole situation, it was very scary for me. It was difficult at that time because I had to leave for another country and start afresh. Even during training, everyone wanted to see what I can do because the person who just left actually made a mark.
“So, the pressure was just there. But, I encouraged myself to be myself and not trying to fill in anybody’s shoes. All I wanted to do was make a mark for myself, which is so possible; and after playing the first two games, I got comfortable.”
