Leicester City Seeking 'Huge Fee' for Wilfred Ndidi Amid Liverpool Transfer Talk

Liverpool have made an approach to Leicester City over the signature of midfield anchor Wilfred Ndidi, but the Foxes are ready to hold out for a "huge fee" if they're to let their man leave. 

That's according to journalist Alpha Balde (h/t Liverpool Echo's Kristian Walsh), who tweeted that while Ndidi "would give his consent" to an Anfield switch, Leicester's demands may put Liverpool off a move.

Guinea international Naby Keita is already scheduled to arrive on Merseyside from RB Leipzig this summer, but the Reds are expected to move for other midfielders as manager Jurgen Klopp looks to increase his options.

Ndidi, 21, arrived at the King Power Stadium from Belgian outfit Genk in January 2017, billed as the replacement for N'Golo Kante, who moved to Chelsea six months prior, and WhoScored.com showed some evidence as to why:

The youngster has cemented his place as one of the club's most important players in a short space of time, and he leads the English top flight in average tackles per game (4.2), per WhoScored.com.

Everton star Idrissa Gueye and Kante are second and third in that list, respectively, which stands as proof of just how effective Ndidi has been in honing his craft since arriving in England.

Ndidi has taken little time to adjust to the Premier League, and if a move to Anfield materialised this summer, he could sit as the deep-lying star Klopp needs to release Keita and fulfil his potential elsewhere.

The BBC's John Bennett also hinted the only way is up for Ndidi, considering he's still technically adjusting to the role he's taken on in deep midfield:

There's no mention as to what Leicester would consider an acceptable fee for their star. Chelsea signed Kante for £32 million after Leicester had just won the Premier League crown, but Ndidi is also several years younger than his predecessor was at the time.

Football writer Michael Yokhin spoke of the talent set to arrive at Liverpool this summer after Keita scored in Leipzig's 2-1 win over Bayern Munich on Sunday:

Emre Can's soon-to-be expired contract looks likely to force the need for one new midfielder, but additions could call into question the involvement of Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana or Georginio Wijnaldum.

Ndidi is a proven quantity in the Premier League already and has a lot of potential to fulfil, but the question is how much Liverpool would be willing to pay to lure their target from Leicester.