Yahoo News Steve Cooper should reverse one of Enzo Maresca's best changes if new Leicester City deal signed
As things stand, Wilfred Ndidi is officially a Leicester City player for only a couple more days. Discussions have been held over a new contract, but while there is no confirmed answer, he’s heading towards free agency from Monday.
That’s not to say he won’t sign the deal. Far from it. Links to Everton have been debunked by media in Liverpool, while press in Marseille are saying he would be too expensive for them to afford. City’s deal could be the best offer on the table.
His team-mates want him to stay too. Stephy Mavididi has been publicly pleading with Ndidi on social media to extend his stay at the King Power Stadium.
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The news of City’s contract offer to the Nigerian first emerged during the three-week period where they didn’t have a manager. As far as City were concerned, it didn’t matter who they appointed, Ndidi was a player the new man could use.
Steve Cooper is that new man and the question of how he would use Ndidi can now be considered. Does he follow Enzo Maresca’s lead or does he revert Ndidi back to his old self?
It was perhaps one of the best coaching achievements of Maresca’s year in charge at City that he shaped Ndidi into a different player. In the Italian’s system, there was no place for a midfield destroyer, but rather than cast Ndidi aside, he repurposed some of his qualities.
Wanting a more physical option as one of his number eights, Ndidi offered a good profile and an ability to press high up the pitch. Then, with Maresca’s guidance, he was able to get into the rhythm of the attacking aspects of the game too.
Initially, Ndidi looked like a fish out of water in his new advanced role, but he improved quickly and by the midpoint of the season, City missed him when he was unavailable. He finished the campaign with six goals and six assists.
The change in role felt like it was beneficial to Ndidi too. Most players had had difficult seasons as City were relegated, but it felt like an especially poor year for the Nigerian. Playing further forward and without the responsibility of protecting the defence, it was like a weight was lifted from his shoulders. The smile was back on his face.
But the Premier League is a different beast to the Championship. There would have been doubts over Ndidi continuing in his attacking position in the top flight, and indeed, Maresca had been discussing the idea of playing him in the back three at the very end of last term.
If Ndidi does stick around, it feels like he will drop back. In the two formations most regularly used by Cooper during his time at Nottingham Forest, it doesn’t look like there would be room for him in an attacking position. All of the central midfield roles have been there to protect the defence.
With a back three, Cooper deploys two deep central midfielders, with the two wing-back then getting forward to support the front three. In a 4-3-3, shielding the defence was the priority for the midfield trio.
With City needing to do more defending, it would feel like the right move for Ndidi. After all, he was, and maybe still is, an elite ball-winner. In his first four full seasons in the Premier League, he finished in the top two for combined tackles and interceptions every year. Injuries and selection saw him only play half the minutes in the two years following, the second of which City were relegated, but he still finished in the top three for tackles and interceptions on a per-game basis.
To see Ndidi rank so highly in City’s relegation campaign may be a surprise, as watching on, it looked like he struggled. His rate of recovering loose balls did drop, which may have given the impression he wasn’t dominating the midfield as much. Plus, he made more mistakes with his passing, and had a few off-games. There were four matches in which he failed to make a single tackle, something he had not done in any game he started in the previous two years.
But perhaps, after a joyful year further forward, Ndidi’s confidence may be back and that could help him rediscover his consistency. In that case, he could become the Premier League’s tackle king again. Cooper will hope he signs the deal.
