The man behind the unearthing of Wilfred Ndidi at Genk, Peter Maes has attributed the improvement in the Nigerian on his eagerness to learn while playing in Belgian League.
The 56-year-old former Genk coach told The Athletic that Ndidi is every coach delight.
“He was very respectful to his coach. He listened to everything you said and the way he wanted to go was the way his coach wanted him to go. He was very good to coach because he was hungry to learn,” Maes said.
Before departing to join Leicester in the English premier League (EPL), Ndidi made 83 competitive appearances in one season and a half for Genk before departing for Leicester City in January 2017.
As a 19-year-old, Ndidi joined the Belgian side from Nath Boys Academy in 2015.
“He is very strong and has a very good ball-recovery ability. Ndidi has those telescopic legs he can stretch out to get the ball back. I saw this in training when he was young. When you are young, you learn a lot. Also, he is a very smart guy who wants to learn. He adapted very quickly to the situation. You only need to tell him one time how he needs to defend and how he needs to play a position.
He learns unbelievably quickly.”
Ndidi has been widely known to play in a single pivot role in midfield for Leicester, but Rodgers is looking to improve him by adapting him in more roles which the former Liverpool boss admits is working.
Maes stated he was proud of the mark Ndidi has made in the Premier League with 130 appearances, eight goals and seven assists, and believes he is ready to play for a bigger side than Leicester who are currently third in the standings and look guaranteed of Champions League football next season.
