Aston Villa must shatter transfer record to sign 'irreplaceable' £54m star for Steven Gerrard

Aston Villa have been linked with a move for Leicester City's Nigerian midfielder Wilfred Ndidi

Steven Gerrard is expected to prioritise a new midfielder in the summer transfer window.

Aston Villa made a late bid to sign Mali international Yves Bissouma in January, but Brighton turned it down.

Bissouma, 25, is out of contract in 2023 and Villa will face lots of competition for his signature in the next transfer window.

The club are already identifying alternatives to Bissouma, and Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndidi has reportedly emerged as a target.

Ndidi has been incredibly influential in helping Brendan Rodgers’ side secure successive fifth-placed finishes in the Premier League.

Due to injuries, Ndidi has only started 15 of Leicester’s 22 league matches this term and their form has deteriorated as a result.

The Foxes have won just two of their seven games without Ndidi, and sit 11th in the Premier League table - one place above Gerrard’s Villans.

Quite simply, Leicester don’t function as well without Ndidi anchoring their midfield.

"I’ve said before, he’s irreplaceable," Rodgers said 12 months ago. "There are lots of good players that we have that can do that job, but we don’t have anyone that can do it to the level that he does.”

It’s a position Villa need to fill and Ndidi has all the characteristics Gerrard is looking for.

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The Nigerian’s ball-winning statistics are extraordinary. In his first two seasons with Leicester, Ndidi made 152 and 165 tackles, respectively, and he topped a tonne in each of his last two campaigns.

Douglas Luiz has filled the position in the absence of Marvelous Nakamba, but Gerrard ideally wants to use the Brazilian in a slightly more advanced role.

Villa are currently negotiating with Douglas over a new deal, with Arsenal monitoring his situation ahead of the summer window.

Villa could use cash drummed up by Douglas’ sale to fund the signing of a new defensive-minded midfielder - but Ndidi won’t come cheap.

According to Transfermarkt, Ndidi - who has two years remaining on his contract at the King Power - is worth £54million.

Leicester boss Rodgers was asked about Ndidi’s £50m-plus valuation at his latest press conference. "He's worth much more than that,” was Rodgers’ blunt reply.

Villa broke their transfer record for the third successive summer window to land Argentine winger Emiliano Buendia for an initial £33m in the summer. If Gerrard chooses to sign Philippe Coutinho permanently from Barcelona, he will cost another £33m.

But, as per Rodgers’ comments, Ndidi will cost significantly more than that sum.

So, following on from Wesley Moraes (£22m), Ollie Watkins (£28m) and Buendia (£33m), Villa will have to shatter their transfer record for a fourth successive year to stand any chance of luring Ndidi across the Midlands.

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