Can the Super Eagles benefit from Wilfred Ndidi's change of role at Leicester City?

Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has assumed a new role under Leicester manager Enzo Maresca who was appointed in the summer.

Known as a defensive midfielder, Ndidi has played an attacking role on the right side of the Foxes' three-man midfield with former Tottenham midfielder Harry Winks often playing as the deepest-playing midfielder.

This change of role has reflected in Ndidi's offensive contribution having recorded 10 goal involvements across all competitions

For more clarity on this, the 27-year-old has five goal involvements in 17 games in the Championship this term, whereas he only managed 17 goal contributions in 192 games in the Premier League.

With the former Genk midfielder having more impact in the final third this season, can this be translated into the Super Eagles?

To answer this, it must be noted that the reason behind the surge in Ndidi's attacking numbers is due to his change of role and that is why it is unlikely that he can translate such form while playing for the Super Eagles.

This is because he plays as a defensive and not attacking midfielder for Nigeria and that explains why he is yet to get a goal for the Super Eagles.

Having said that,  José Peseiro can still benefit from his newly found offensive firepower as his new role has  made him become a better player and we might have already seen glimpses of that.

During the Super Eagles' emphatic victory over São Tomé and Príncipe in the AFCON qualifiers, the Leicester City man showed glimpses of how he can help to break down defences albeit against poor opposition.

This implies that Peseiro can now rely on him to help break down defences and in tight games, the Portuguese tactician won't have to sacrifice him in the event his team needs more attacking firepower.

While it is highly unlikely that the 53-cap international gets more goal involvement as he does with Leicester City, there is no doubt that the Super Eagles will benefit from his threat in the final third which has been brought about by his change of role.

Abdulkareem Abdulhamid

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