Wilfred Ndidi is regarded as one of the best midfielders in the world at the moment, due to his consistent performance for Leicester City and the Super Eagles.
Since bursting unto the scene in 2016 Ndidi has played almost every game for both club and country, after making the defensive midfield role his own.
Ndidi is an undeniable blessing to any coach, but Leicester City boss Brenda Rodgers isn’t pushing his luck too far on the midfielder and decided to sign players that can cover for him or compete with him in the team.
The other players in Brenda Rodgers team that can play Ndidi’s role are Hamza Choudry , Boubakary Somare and Nampalys Mendy, but same can’t be said about the Super Eagles.
Other stars in the Super Eagles have adequate cover or players competing with them, but Leicester City star has monopolised his position as he has no one to challenge or cover for him.
To be fair on Ndidi, he won’t create the competition or cover for himself, it is the job of the Super Eagles technically crew led by coach Austin Eguavoen and it is high time they look into that direction.
Yes, Ndidi is still young and has many good years left him in, but with his recent injury history, there is no guarantee that he’ll be available for every game and that’s the reason Super Eagles coaches should start the search for quality cover or a successor now.
And the players, they should be looking at, are Innocent Bonke and Azubuike Okechukwu. Both are natural game breaker and ball recover like Willfred Ndidi.
While Azubuike Okechukwu has undeniable qualities, Bonke showed what he can do against Cape Verde last year in Mindelo.
With Ndidi out of the crucial World qualifying playoff against Ghana, naturally, Bonke or Azubuike should have step in, but as usual, they aren’t in contention , because Eguavoen decided to trust unproven Ogenyi Onazi and unfit Oghenekaro Etebo with a slot on his standby list.
The decision is a gamble that has left the team weakened, but can still be managed and possibly corrected.
Going forward, I’ll advise Austin Eguavoen to take the bold step and give Innocent Bonke and Azubuike a chance, instead of drafting Ogenyi Onazi, a man Willfred Ndidi dethroned back into the main squad.
These guys are, energetic and has the characteristics of modern midfielders and it is better beef up the team with good young players, rather than trying to resuscitate a player who has passed his prime.
like i stated earlier, Eguavoen can’t afford to relax and wait for the disaster to happen, before taking a step . The search for quality cover should be a priority and should start now.
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