Super Eagles and Leicester City star Wilfred Ndidi is in the running for the Premier League best defensive midfielder this season, in an ongoing voting exercise published on the official website of the English football top-flight body.
Ndidi was listed alongside Liverpool’s Fabinho, Etienne Capoue of Watford, Manchester City’s Rodri, Fred of Manchester United and Jorginho of Chelsea.
Fans are expected to cast their votes for the best defensive midfielder this season among the five players shortlisted.
Ndidi’s influence has been compared to that of former Foxes title-winner N’Golo Kante who now plays for Chelsea.
The 23-year-old tops the list of midfielders for most tackles, averaging 4.4 each match, and interceptions, with 2.9.
For Fabinho, the former AS Monaco midfielder is rarely drawn out of position, and is joint fifth for most tackles, winning 2.6 per match.
The 26-year-old clever distribution for Liverpool means he is third among midfielders for most passes, averaging 68.7 per 90 minutes and fourth for successful passes (58.7).
Fred’s resurgence in 2019/20 has been a major plus for Manchester United. His average of 0.3 blocks per match is joint third among midfielders while he ranks second for recovering possession, 9.8 times every 90 minutes.
Operating as Chelsea’s deep-lying playmaker, Jorginho has the most passes per match, averaging 83.1, and successful passes (73.1).
He contributes defensively too, ranking third for possession won, 9.5 times on average each match, while is third for the most interceptions per 90 this season.
City’s Rodri has excelled in his first season as Pep Guardiola’s midfield pivot.
Against West Ham United, the Rodri broke the record for the most successful passes in a Premier League fixture, with 178.
He ranks first among his rivals for most passes made and for most successful passes per match.
And for Capoue, the Frenchman has shown he has the ability to boss the midfield in any given match for Watford.
He ranks fourth among midfielders for tackles, making 2.8 per 90 minutes, and joint third for most blocks (0.3) this season in a team struggling at the wrong end of the table.
