The Nigeria international’s striking performance against Jose Mourinho’s men remains fresh in the memory of the Northern Irish manager
Brendan Rodgers has labelled Wilfred Ndidi as ‘irreplaceable’ thanks to his impressive outing in Leicester City’s 2-0 defeat of Tottenham Hotspur on December 20.
The Nigeria international who recently returned from an adductor injury was a cog in the midfield of the Foxes as goals from Jamie Vardy and Toby Alderweireld silenced Jose Mourinho’s men before their home fans.
As Leicester prepare to take on Odion Ighalo’s Manchester United in Saturday’s Boxing Day fixture at the King Power Stadium, the Northern Irish manager has showered encomium on the former Genk man who has impressed over recent weeks.
“I’ve said before, he’s irreplaceable,” Rodgers told the club website.
“There are lots of good players that we have that can do that job, but we don’t have anyone that can do it to the level that he does.
“His reading of the game, his agility… all the numbers after the [Spurs] game show how good he is in covering space, but it’s also the confidence he gives to the other players.
“He was immense in the game, against a really good midfield. If you think of [Moussa] Sissoko and [Pierre-Emile] Hojbjerg that were in there, he was absolutely outstanding.”
The Foxes are second in the English top-flight log – four points behind leaders Liverpool – and victory for the Red Devils on Filbert Way would prove very pivotal in their title challenge, nevertheless, Rodgers described his belief that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men could be challengers this term.
“There’s sometimes a narrative around Manchester United,” he continued.
“At those big clubs, with huge expectations, if you lose a game, it’s a disaster.
“Of course, they’ll be disappointed with going out of the Champions League because the history of the club has been built on the great success they’ve had in Europe.
“We’re not even halfway, we’re 14 games in. They’ve only played 13 and they’re a club that’s expected to be up there. It’s such a long, long season still to go.”
Ndidi, 24, has been a consistent performer for the English outfit since he teamed up with the club from Belgium in 2017.
In the 2020-21 campaign, he has only made eight appearances across all competitions for the Foxes, including six in the English top-flight due to his injury problems.
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