It has been a superb season for Aston Villa so far, who sit fifth in the Premier League on 60 points and are still in the Europa Conference League, with a tie against Lille coming up this week.
The Villans have improved leaps and bounds under the tutelage of Unai Emery, and have risen from 16th in the Premier League when he took over last season, to Champions League contenders in 2024.
Emery inherited a squad with plenty of talent, and he is getting the best out of his players this season. Ollie Watkins has been one of the best players in the Premier League and has scored 18 goals and registered ten assists in just 31 games, a remarkable return.
Leon Bailey is another who is enjoying a fruitful season in front of goal under Emery, with eight goals and eight assists so far while the likes of Ezri Konsa are also performing well, with the 26-year-old recently making his full England debut.
However, there is perhaps one glaring hole in Emery’s squad, in defensive midfield. Villa’s first-choice number six, Boubacar Kamara, suffered an ACL injury in February, meaning they have been without Douglas Luiz’s regular midfield partner.
It is certainly a hole that Villa need to plug soon, and there is one particular rumour linking them with a former Premier League midfielder ahead of summer.
Aston Villa looking to sign a new midfielder
According to journalist Graeme Bailey, Villa, alongside other Premier League sides including Tottenham and Newcastle, are monitoring the situation of Leicester City and Nigeria midfielder Wilfred Ndidi.
It is not the first time the Villans have been linked with Ndidi. Back in 2022, they were rumoured to be interested in placing a £50m bid for the Nigeria international, although then-Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers did not seem to agree with that value, saying he is “worth much more than that”.
However, Villa would not have to pay a penny for Ndidi this summer, with the 27-year-old available on a free transfer, along with several other Leicester players including club legend Jamie Vardy.
No doubt, Villa would face stiff competition for Ndidi’s signature during the transfer window, but he could certainly be one player who solves some of their midfield issues and helps fill the void left by Kamara’s ACL injury.
The perfect partner for Luiz
Ndidi has previously had heaps of praise from significant people in his career. Former Nigeria midfielder Sunday Oliseh once described Ndidi as “the best defensive midfielder in the Premier League, so far this season” back in 2020, high praise from someone who made 63 caps for Nigeria.
Ndidi’s former manager, Rodgers, did not hold back on his praise for the midfielder either. In 2019, Rodgers summed up the 27-year-old’s impact on his Leicester side, explaining how he “does the dirty work”, can always “smell danger” and is one of the “top players at winning the ball back”.
The stats suggest Rodgers was correct in his statement; according to the numbers by Fbref, Ndidi is a great ball-winner. Albeit now playing in the Championship, he averages 1.24 interceptions per 90 minutes, placing him in the 69th percentile of midfielders in comparative leagues, and also works hard to win the ball back in the final third, something required of him in Enzo Marseca’s high-pressing system.
The Leicester midfielder wins 0.32 tackles per 90 minutes in the final third, placing him in the top 21%. He also completed 3.1 ball recoveries per 90 minutes this season, as per Sofascore.
The Nigerian could prove to be a dream partner for Douglas Luiz in Villa’s midfield. The Brazil international has scored nine goals and registered five assists this season in the Premier League, his best-ever return for combined goal involvements.
With Ndidi sitting at the base of Villa’s midfield, it allows Luiz more security to get forward and impact the game in the final third, chipping in with goals and assists along the way. As Rodgers said, Ndidi “does the dirty work”, and this is certainly something Luiz, and Villa, could benefit from, to make them an even better side ahead of a big season in 2024/25.
