Brendan Rodgers believes Wilfried Ndidi is ‘worth more than £50million’ as the Leicester midfielder continues to be linked with a switch to Aston Villa.
Ndidi has been an ever-present for the Foxes since his switch from Genk in 2017 and has also attracted interest from Manchester United, who are keen to bring a holding midfielder to Old Trafford.
The 25-year-old, who is contracted until 2024, is said to now be a top target for Villa, who will reportedly make a £50million bid next summer.
When that figure was put to Rodgers at a press conference on Wednesday, he said: “He’s worth much more than that.”
Rodgers accepted that good players always attract interest but believes the midfielder is happy at the club and sees no reason why he would not choose to stay.
“It’s both of those things – it’s how it works,” Rodgers said.
“A player of that quality and mentality, of course, you want to always keep, but when you have that player, he will always attract interest.
“But he seems very settled here. I know he’s moved into a new house and he seems very, very happy. He’s a pleasure to work with and hopefully, he can be around the club for many years.”
Ndidi had spoken himself earlier at the press conference. He said: “At the moment I am enjoying myself in Leicester.
“My family is here. My business degree was on hold because at the time it was during lockdown, and then my daughter (was born). But I’m looking forward to it maybe next year.”
Rodgers and Ndidi were speaking ahead of Thursday’s home clash with Danish side Randers, the first leg of a Europa Conference League play-off from which the winners will advance into the last 16.
Ndidi was asked about Rodgers’ comments after the 4-1 FA Cup loss at Nottingham Forest earlier this month, where he stressed that “there are a lot of players, between now and the end of the season, who need to prove they are still worthy of being here”.
The Nigeria international said: “It is the honest truth. The club is bigger than every player. We as players know what we want, for the club, as players, so I think it’s just that concentration of where you are now, to look forward to those achievements that you want.
“I think it’s just a wake-up call for us, for the manager to actually say those things and for us to concentrate more on our games. At this moment, we needed it. He (Rodgers) is always there for us. I think we needed it.”
