Wilfred Ndidi

Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi Agu
Personal information
Full name Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi
Date of birth (1996-12-16) 16 December 1996
Place of birth Nigeria
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position Defensive midfielder / Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Genk
Number 25
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015– Genk 30 (2)
National team‡
2013–2015 Nigeria U20 7 (0)
2015– Nigeria 2 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:29, 3 March 2016 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:29, 3 March 2016 (UTC)

Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi (born 16 December 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays for Belgian Pro League club K.R.C. Genk and the Nigeria national football team. He signed for the club from Nathaniel boys of Lagos in his native Nigeria after a successful trial. He has made appearances for the Nigeria U-20 team at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He is known for his versatility and can play as a central defender, defensive midfielder or full back.[1]

Club career

Ndidi made his Belgian Pro League debut with K.R.C. Genk on 31 January 2015 against Charleroi in a 1-0 away defeat. He played the first 74 minutes of the game, before being substituted for Jarne Vrijsen.[2] Ndidi exploded onto the scene during his first full season in 2015/2016.Originally playing in the centerback position, he displayed a wide range of passing and shooting than needed for the role. He was redeployed as a defensive midfielder and central midfielder for the rest of the season. During the Belgian playoff game against Club Brugge, Ndidi would go on to score a world class goal. Receiving an attempted-clearance outside the penalty box, he lofted the ball smoothly over an opposing player before unleashing a ferocious volley into the top right corner.[3][4] The ball was adjudged to be travelling at over 111 km/hr.[5] It was named the goal of the season in the Belgian league. He scored 2 more goals before the end of the playoffs including another volley from outside the box against R.S.C. Anderlecht in a 5-2 win. He received the award as the third-best young player in the Belgian league for the 2015/2016 season. On 1 December 2016 his club Genk agreed a £14m transfer deal with English Premier League champions Leicester City.

International career

Ndidi was part of the Nigerian youth setup during his time at Nathaniel Boys of Lagos. While playing the African U-17 Championship with Nigeria, he was excluded along with two other players from the competition as a precaution, following an MRI test that showed he was just slightly above the threshold.[6] Notwithstanding, he joined up with his teammates in the U-20 team the following year, forming the bedrock of the midfield. He was called up to the Senior Nigeria national football team on October 8, 2015., making his debut in the friendly game against DR Congo, and playing again a few days days later in the 3-0 win against Cameroon, when he replaced John Obi Mikel in the 63rd minute.[7]

He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Nigeria - W. Ndidi - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  2. ↑ "Charleri vs. Genk - 31 January 2015 - Soccerway". soccerway.com. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNrukUXR8bc
  4. ↑ http://www.standaard.be/cnt/dmf20160523_02303545
  5. ↑ http://www.lavenir.net/cnt/dmf20160524_00830880/footballeur-pro-de-l-annee-wilfred-ndidi-auteur-du-plus-beau-but
  6. ↑ https://www.naij.com/31032.html
  7. ↑ http://www.goal.com/en-ng/match/nigeria-vs-cameroon/2163143/live-commentary?ICID=MP_MS_3
  8. ↑ Oluwashina Okeleji (24 June 2016). "Kelechi Iheanacho included in Nigeria's Olympics squad". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 12/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.