Wilfred Ndidi
Nigerian footballer (born 1996)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi ⓘ (born 16 December 1996) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Süper Lig club Beşiktaş and captains the Nigeria national team.
|
Ndidi lining up with Nigeria in 2017 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Onyinye Wilfred Ndidi[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 16 December 1996[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Lagos, Nigeria | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Beşiktaş | ||
| Number | 4 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2002–2012 | Ekosodin Stars FC | ||
| 2012–2015 | Nath Boys Academy | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2015–2017 | Genk | 61 | (4) |
| 2017–2025 | Leicester City | 252 | (11) |
| 2025– | Beşiktaş | 30 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2013–2015 | Nigeria U20 | 7 | (0) |
| 2015– | Nigeria | 79 | (1) |
Medal record | |||
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 22:22, 11 September 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 23:27, 10 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Genk
On 14 January 2015 Nath Boys Academy agreed a €180,000 transfer deal with Genk. The deal was completed on 15 January 2015. Ndidi made his Belgian Pro League debut with Genk on 31 January 2015 against Charleroi in a 1–0 away defeat. He played the first 74 minutes of the game before being substituted for Jarne Vrijsen.[4]
During the Belgian League play-off game against Club Brugge, Ndidi scored a long-range goal, which was named the goal of the season in the Belgian league. After receiving an attempted-clearance outside the penalty box, he lofted the ball smoothly over an opposing player before unleashing a ferocious volley into the top right corner.[5][6] The ball was adjudged to be travelling at over 111 km/h.[7]
Leicester City
On 3 December 2016, Genk agreed a £17 million transfer deal with Leicester City.[8][9] The deal was confirmed on 5 January 2017.[10]
Ndidi made his debut for the club on 7 January 2017 in a 2–1 win against Everton in the third round of the FA Cup.[11] He made his first Premier League start on 14 January 2017, against Chelsea at home in a 3–0 defeat.[12] In the English FA Cup game against Derby County on 8 February 2017, Ndidi came on in the first half of extra time and scored his first goal for Leicester through another long-range shot.[13] In a 3–1 win over Liverpool on 27 February 2017, Ndidi won 11 of his 14 tackles,[14] a feat bettered only by Chelsea's N'Golo Kanté, who made 14 tackles against the same club in January.[15]
Ndidi was sent off for the first time in his career during Leicester's 3–0 home defeat to Crystal Palace on 16 December 2017.[16]
He scored the opener of the 2019–20 season for Leicester in a draw against Chelsea on 18 August 2019.[17]
2020–21 season
On 13 September 2020, Ndidi started at centre-back in Leicester City's opening game of the 2020–21 Premier League campaign and kept a clean sheet in a 3–0 win away to West Bromwich Albion. Ndidi suffered an adductor injury on 20 September 2020 and was ruled out for 6–12 weeks.[18] He returned to action on 3 December in Leicester's Europa League loss to Zorya Luhansk.
On 19 January 2021, Ndidi scored his first goal of the season in Leicester City's league fixture against Chelsea. The match ended with Leicester beating their opponents 2–0 and the club went top of the league table.[19]
Later career
Amidst rumours of Ndidi leaving Leicester as a free agent,[20] On 12 July 2024, he signed a new three-year contract extension with the club, running until June 2027.[21]
Beşiktaş
On 8 August 2025, Ndidi joined Beşiktaş on a permanent three-year deal with an option for another year.[22] On 17 October 2025, Ndidi has been appointed as the vice captain of the team.[23]
International career
Ndidi was part of the Nigerian youth setup during his time at Nathaniel Boys of Lagos. While playing the African U-17 Championship with Nigeria, he was excluded along with two other players from the competition as a precaution, following an MRI age test that suggested he was slightly above the threshold.[24] Notwithstanding, he joined up with his teammates in the U-20 team the following year, forming the bedrock of the midfield. He was called up to the senior Nigerian national team on 8 October 2015, making his debut in the friendly game against DR Congo, and playing again a few days later in the 3–0 win against Cameroon, when he replaced John Obi Mikel in the 63rd minute.[25] He was selected by Nigeria for their 35-man provisional squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics.[26]
In May 2018, he was named in Nigeria's preliminary 30-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[27] He was included in the African Cup of Nations 2019 squad[28] and played in Nigeria's first match against Burundi.[29] On 25 December 2021, Ndidi was selected in Nigeria's 2021 Africa Cup of Nations 28-man squad by Nigeria's caretaker coach Austin Eguavoen.[30] On 22 January 2022, after the Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 group stage, Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) shortlisted Ndidi in the group stage's best team as a substitute alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané.[31]
On 29 December 2023, Ndidi was named in the Nigerian squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast.[32] However, he sustained an injury in early January 2024 and was replaced by Alhassan Yusuf.[33] In December 2025, Ndidi was appointed captain of the national team ahead of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[34][35]
Personal life
In May 2019, Ndidi married his longtime girlfriend Dinma Fortune in Abuja.[36]
In 2019, Ndidi started studying for a degree in Business and Management at De Montfort University.[37]
On 27 January 2026, Ndidi's father was killed in a car crash just over a week after he helped the Super Eagles to third place at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.[38]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 13 August 2026[39]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Genk | 2014–15 | Belgian Pro League | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 6 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | Belgian Pro League | 36 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 2[c] | 0 | 43 | 4 | |||
| 2016–17 | Belgian Pro League | 19 | 0 | 3 | 1 | — | 12[d] | 2 | — | 34 | 3 | |||
| Total | 61 | 4 | 8 | 1 | — | 12 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 83 | 7 | |||
| Leicester City | 2016–17 | Premier League | 17 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4[e] | 0 | — | 23 | 3 | |
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 33 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 1 | |||
| 2018–19 | Premier League | 38 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20 | Premier League | 32 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 2 | |||
| 2020–21 | Premier League | 26 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4[d] | 0 | — | 36 | 1 | ||
| 2021–22 | Premier League | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 8[f] | 2 | 1[g] | 0 | 31 | 2 | |
| 2022–23 | Premier League | 27 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | Championship | 32 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | — | — | 36 | 6 | |||
| 2024–25 | Premier League | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 30 | 1 | |||
| Total | 252 | 11 | 18 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 303 | 18 | ||
| Beşiktaş | 2025–26 | Süper Lig | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 2[h] | 0 | — | 31 | 2 | ||
| 2026–27 | Süper Lig | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 25 | 2 | 4 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | — | 33 | 2 | ||||
| Career total | 338 | 16 | 30 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 32 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 419 | 27 | ||
- Includes Belgian Cup, FA Cup, Turkish Cup
- Appearances in Belgian Pro League Europa League play-offs
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa League, four appearances and one goal in UEFA Europa Conference League
- Appearance in FA Community Shield
- Appearances in UEFA Conference League
International
- As of match played 10 June 2026[40]
- As of match played 27 December 2025
- Scores and results list Nigeria's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ndidi goal.[40]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 December 2025 | Fez Stadium, Fez, Morocco | 73 |  Tunisia | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2025 Africa Cup of Nations |
