On the same night that Wilfred Ndidi opened his goalscoring account for Leicester City, the central midfielder won the 2016 Goal of the Year at the 63rd edition of the Belgian Golden Shoe.

The Nigeria international was preparing to take to the pitch against Derby County in the fourth round of the FA Cup and was not present to receive the prestigious award on Wednesday.

Ndidi’s trademark shot from distance against Club Brugge in the First Division A playoffs on April 20 was voted the most eye-catching goal in Belgium for 2016.

The 20-year-old accumulated 2,385 votes to win the accolade, ahead of José Izqueirdo (1816), Ricardo van Rhijn (892) and Alexander Chipciu ( 865).

In the final classification for the Belgian Golden Shoe or Gouden Schoen, an award given to the best footballer in the Belgian top-flight for the past year, the Super Eagle ranked tenth.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : lcfc.com