Leicester have reached an agreement with Genk to sign the 19-year-old Wilfred Ndidi in January.

Claudio Ranieri’s side have been searching for midfield reinforcements since losing N’Golo Kanté to Chelsea in the summer, with Nampalys Mendy having made only one Premier League appearance since joining from Nice owing to injury.

That has led Ranieri to enter the transfer market again, with a £15m fee for Ndidi agreed with Belgian side Genk last week. That includes £3.5m in add-ons which include the teenager, who can also play as a central defender, making a set number of appearances for the champions.

Born in Lagos, Ndidi was discovered by Manchester United’s Belgium scout Roland Janssen at a youth tournament in 2013. Reports in Nigeria have suggested United could also be interested in signing him although Leicester are understood to be in pole position for the player who has already won two senior caps.