Leicester City midfielder Wilfred Ndid has revealed that he was a Chelsea fan for long while in Nigeria far before he got the chance to play top flight English football.

Ndidi said Blues stars John Terry and Nigerian international John Obi Mikel were his inspiration to play football growing up as a young boy in Lagos, Nigeria.

The youngster was recently invited to the Nigerian national team following his impressive display for the Premier League champions. Nigeria played Senegal while the Burkina Faso match was cancelled. Mikel, his hero, was absent as he was on a special leave from the team, considering he moved from Chelsea to Tianjin TEDA in China and his family recently joined him.

Ndidi earned his first call-up October 2015 when he was with Genk but he has since developed. His move to Leicester was for a whopping £17 million as a 20-year old. In an interview with Goal, he said Mikel, Terry and Brazilian star Kaka were his major influences.

“I have always looked up to Mikel. When he was at Chelsea, I was at Nath Boys and I have always liked him as a player. I have always been crazy about Mikel. The way he plays is amazing,” the player who replaced his idol in his debut said.

“When me and my friends talk about players, we always want to talk about Mikel. He is so important for Nigerian football. I actually liked two players from outside of Nigeria. Kaka and John Terry. Because I was a central defender,” Ndidi said.

He added that he never thought of playing in the Premier League as he was just focused on playing football. He said his fascination with Kaka started after the Brazilian won the Balon d’Or.

“I followed him up and watched him more when he went to Madrid. I liked his style of play and I liked his lifestyle outside of football. Very professional,” he said of the current MLS star.

Ndidi has been flourishing in N’GoloKante’s role after the French player moved to Chelsea.