What Brendan Rodgers has said about star he rates at £50m+ as transfer speculation emerges over summer move

Wilfred Ndidi has reportedly been offered to Celtic after leaving Leicester City.

The defensive midfielder has spent the past seven-and-a-half years with the Foxes after being signed from Genk in January 2017 for £17 million. He worked with Rodgers and played some of his best football in blue under him, and he is now a free agent.

Hoops boss Rodgers is yet to make a move this transfer window but the Daily Record claim “the champions were made aware on Monday night that Ndidi would be interested in moving to Glasgow to team up with Rodgers again.” The midfielder helped Leicester back to the Premier League last season but won’t join them in England’s top flight. Ndidi’s agent is said to have claimed to CeltsAreHere that “Wilfred is unfortunately not coming to Celtic”

Ndidi was linked with a £50 million switch to Aston Villa in 2022. But then-Leicester manager Rodgers insisted: “He’s worth much more than that.”

He added: “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.”

In April 2023, in an interview with the Leicester Mercury, Rodgers’ admiration for the battler had not wavered. He explained: “He’s obviously a player that’s got the good athletic ability and works very hard.

“I always have that sort of player, a clear, controlling player in the game. Sometimes, they’re a defensive type like him that can really press the game and play simply, or sometimes, it’s a more creative player, a playmaker from behind.

“He’s got so much talent and been very impressive. He covers the ground so fast. His anticipation is very good, he reads the game, smells the danger, and to have that type of player in there, it’s very important.”