Leicester City offer Ndidi bumper pay rise in bid to fend of offers as Barcelona scouts him

LEICESTER City have offered Super Eagles midfielder Wilfred Ndidi a new contract with a bumper pay rise in a bid to fend off interest from several major European clubs especially Barcelona who are looking to sign him during the January transfer window.

Ndidi, 21, joined Leicester 18 months ago from Belgian side Genk and has since developed into one of the Premier League’s most exciting talents. A tough-tackling and combative midfielder, Ndidi win the most tackles in the Premiership last season and his quality on and off the ball has quickly made him an integral part of Leicester City’s team.

In August this year, he signed a new six year contract with Leicester that will keep him at the King Power Stadium until 2024. However, enquiries keep coming in for Ndidi and Leicester, who currently sir second in the English Premier League table and are keen of qualifying for the Uefa Champions League, are desperate to keep hold of the anchorman for the rest of the season.

Wanting to keep the midfielder settled, the club plan to give him a pay rise on his current salary which stands around £55,000 a week. They could offer him as high as £70,000 a week to keep him settled.

Barcelona have reportedly inquired about the midfielder who is well known to coach Ernesto Valverde who is not satisfied with the lack of steel in his midfield despite the big money signing of Frenkie de Jong from Ajax last summer. Ndidi's agent will meet with Leicester officials over the coming days  to thrash out the terms of the pay rise.

Meanwhile, struggling German Bundesliga side Mainz 05 are considering taking struggling defender Leon Balogun back from Brighton in the English Premiership where he has struggled to get games this season. Mainz, from where the defender came to England last year, is in dire need of options in defence and Balogun, 31, who has only played eight English Premier League games since arriving from Germany would be an ideal signing.

Balogun is yet to taste action in the league this season although he has played once in a cup game and the situation has cost him his spot in the Super Eagles. It is thus likely that Mainz will take him on loan in January until the end of the season.