Leicester table £16m for Genk midfielder, Ndidi

English Premier League champions, Leicester City, have made a £16 million bid for Genk midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi, according to the British media.

Ndidi, a former Nigerian U-20 star, who was recently elevated to the Super Eagles by Franco-German coach, Gernot Rohr, is seen as one of the brightest prospects in the Belgian league.

The reports say Genk are holding out for a £20 million fee and are not willing to allow the 19-year-old, who started his career as a central defender, to leave in the January transfer window.

Leicester City view Ndidi as the long-term replacement for N’Golo Kante, who left the English champions for Chelsea in the summer.

Claudio Ranieri brought midfielder Nampalys Mendy to the King Power Stadium in a £13m deal last summer, but he has been restricted to just one Premier League appearance so far due to a troublesome ankle injury.

Genk’s technical director, Dimitri De Conde, says Ndidi has since expressed his desire to remain at the Belgian club until at least the end of the season but Leicester want their man in as early as January 2017.

“Ndidi and (teammate, Leon) Bailey have indicated that they want to stay until the end of the season.

“But suppose there comes a mega bid, it is very difficult to keep them here,” De Conde told Belgian Newspaper, HLN.

Ndidi has made 15 league appearances for Genk this season.