4 problems which Leicester City must fix immediately

Ndidi the straw that stirs the drink

Soyuncu and Evans have staked their claim for best center back pairing while Wilfred Ndidi at the same time has blossomed into the best defensive midfielder in England (Sorry N’Golo Kante, you haven’t played enough this season beyond not playing as a six the last two years).

Leicester’s foundation, the triangle of Soyuncu, Evans, and Ndidi, make everything else they do well possible. Midfielders Youri Tielemans and James Maddison are free to roam as dual playmaking number tens/eights with Ndidi covering a ton of ground defensively.

Ricardo Pereira wants to bomb upfield and join the attack? No problem. Ndidi can spray the ball out wide to him or he can connect with the midfielders and attackers to spring a counter.

Ndidi is the straw that stirs the drink in the Leicester system. But when he suffered an injury in training before the first leg against Villa, Kelechi Iheanacho had to bail them out at home with a late goal out of nothing. Without Ndidi, the team suffered on both sides of the ball.

The next game? The loss to Southampton. And after that? The loss to Burnley. Had the Nigerian not been injured and played, he may have sniffed out the attacks in their build ups and stopped both the Saints and Clarets winning goals before the defensive miscues could have even happened.

Or maybe he wouldn’t have and Leicester still lose. Regardless, without Ndidi, the foundation is broken at the back and Leicester’s have cost them. The attack also has stumbled, with Tielemans playing out of position as a six or Hamza Choudry failing to do enough on either side of the ball in that same role.

Ndidi’s time out thoroughly hurt the Foxes and now that he’s healthy once again, he must remain healthy.