£65m for Iliman Ndiaye? Fair Enough, So Long as You Bloody Spend It Everton

Well, this is awkward.

Less than 24 hours ago, I was preparing to question why Iliman Ndiaye would reject multiple Everton contracts, seemingly with ambitions of playing Champions League football, only to join a Tottenham Hotspur side sitting bottom of the Premier League with no Europe.

I even wrote that if Manchester City came knocking instead, I'd understand it. Seems like they did come knocking in the end.

Ndiaye's two-year stay at Everton now looks to be coming to an end, with Manchester City hijacking Tottenham's move for the Senegal international and reportedly agreeing a deal worth £60million guaranteed plus £5million in add-ons with the Toffees.

🚨⚪️🔵 BREAKING: Manchester City agree deal to sign Iliman Ndiaye from Everton, here we go!

Club to club agreement in place and green light for medical tests — fee worth £65m package. Personal terms also in place.

Exclusive story revealed today, now confirmed. pic.twitter.com/cLwpBCRlYV

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 31, 2026

If this is indeed the end, Ndiaye will forever hold a unique place in Everton history. He scored Everton's final two goals at Goodison Park (Preston, you don't count son) before becoming the first goalscorer at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

He's also been one of the best 'get you off your seat' players Everton have had in years. Excitement isn't usually something we use to describe our club, you see.

So losing him hurts, but whether you think the fee is too small or not worth the quality of the player, £65 million is a lot of money entering Everton’s bank account. Only problem is that we only have 24 hours to use it.

£65million is a Lot of Money

Here's the thing: I don't suddenly think Ndiaye is a bad footballer because he's leaving Everton.

He's classy, unpredictable and absolutely brilliant to watch when he's in full flow. He'll sit one defender down, twist another inside out and get thousands of supporters off their bums expecting something special to happen.

But will that something special actually end with the ball in the net?

Ndiaye contributed six goals and three assists in 32 Premier League appearances last season for the Toffees, with two of those goals coming from the penalty spot. Nine goal contributions isn't terrible by any means, and some of his goals were absolutely ridiculous. His wonderful solo effort away at Sunderland and that pixel-perfect finish against Chelsea immediately spring to mind.

Iliman Ndiaye bends one right into the top corner! 😍 pic.twitter.com/Aqs59qJyxA

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) March 21, 2026

Even taking all nine goal contributions into account, those aren't extraordinary numbers for a player now commanding a £65million fee. Take away the two penalties and you're looking at four goals from open play across an entire league campaign. For all the wonderful footwork, dribbling and excitement he brings, is that really £65million worth of end product? Beto managed one more goal contribution last season and he's seemingly going for far less money. Just saying.

That's perhaps what frustrated me about Ndiaye during his second season. It wasn't a bad campaign, but I don't think we saw the same energy, impetus and excitement that made his first year at Everton so enjoyable. His performances dipped particularly after returning from AFCON and there were times when even I found myself getting frustrated with him.

Everton Couldn't Do Much More

Perhaps that's why I'm finding it difficult to get too emotional about the prospect of him leaving. Obviously he's a special talent and will be a big miss for supporters, but one thing we have absolutely no control over is a player's mindset. To me, it always seemed like Ndiaye was looking ahead during his time at Everton, and it's easy to understand why.

Ndiaye has reportedly rejected multiple new contract offers, while reports have suggested his camp wanted a Champions League release clause inserted into any new deal. At some point, if a player has ambitions of playing at the very highest level and one of the biggest clubs in world football offers £65million for him, there's only so much you can do.

🚨 #THFC had agreed a £60M fee with Everton for Iliman Ndiaye on Sunday, but the 26-year-old decided to see if other clubs came in and as soon as it became clear Manchester City wanted him, he pushed for a move to the Etihad Stadium. 😫@hirstclass/@_pauljoyce/@peterrutzler pic.twitter.com/EivJNPhPSY

— Hotspur Lane (@HotspurLane) August 31, 2026

What exactly are we supposed to do? And unlike Tottenham, I actually understand this one.

Why Manchester City Makes Sense

This was the entire problem I had with the Spurs move. Ndiaye seemingly wanted Champions League football and had attracted interest from Manchester City, only to be closing in on joining a Tottenham side without European football and currently sitting at the bottom of the Premier League.

It didn't make sense to me.

Manchester City does, even if I don’t like to admit that. This isn’t a sideways move going from a team whose aim is European football to one of similar ambitions. This is moving to a club that has spent the last decade and a half winning Premier League titles, lifting the Champions League and competing for practically every major honour available.

Everton cannot currently offer that. When I pass away 60 years from now, that's probably when we will, I'm convinced.

But if Ndiaye has spent the last year looking at his career and thinking he wants Champions League football and the opportunity to challenge for the biggest trophies available, Manchester City offers exactly that. And hey, he picked the right side of Manchester at least.

Ndiaye's Everton Legacy is Complicated

The change of destination doesn't completely change how I feel about Ndiaye's relationship with Everton, though.

Evertonians loved Iliman Ndiaye. Of course we did. You don't watch a player produce moments of magic, embrace the supporters and score two of the most historically significant goals in the club's recent history without forming some sort of connection with him.

But did Ndiaye ever love Everton in the same way Everton loved Ndiaye? I'm not convinced.

It's why all the talk surrounding a potential Richarlison return over the last few days got me thinking about the difference between the pair.

Richarlison was different. Evertonians adored that man, but you always got the feeling that the feeling was mutual. He understood the supporters, fought for absolutely everything on the pitch and, when the club needed him most, quite literally put his body on the line.

Look no further than the 2021/22 relegation battle, where Richarlison later revealed that his body was effectively begging him to stop. He had lost weight, was struggling to complete matches and was carrying injuries, but Everton were fighting for their Premier League lives, and he refused to give in.

Before that unforgettable Crystal Palace game at Goodison Park, Richarlison took medication and an injection before refusing to undergo a medical examination because he knew the club wouldn't allow him to play if they discovered the extent of his problems.

His explanation afterwards summed him up perfectly: "I had to sweat blood that day."

Richarlison played, scored Everton's second as the Toffees came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 and, by the end of one of the most chaotic nights almost 40,000 of us inside Goodison had ever witnessed, we were safe...until we tried the same gimmick the year after and nearly got relegated again.

Absolutely everybody: *LIMBS!!!* 🙌

Richarlison: pic.twitter.com/K4oLaErWhe

— Everton (@Everton) May 19, 2022

He later described that performance as his final sacrifice for a club he loved. Maybe this is harsh, but could you imagine Ndiaye doing the same? Hard to say, but I never felt the same emotional connection between Ndiaye and Everton that I witnessed with Richarlison.

That's not to say Ndiaye didn't care about Everton. I'm sure he did, and I don't want to rewrite two very enjoyable years simply because he's leaving. But there's a difference between loving playing for a football club and falling in love with the football club itself.

Ndiaye has seemingly been presented with new contracts and decided his future lies elsewhere. That's his right, just as it's Everton's right to take £65million and say thank you very much, or as a Scouser would say, nice one lad.

City Are Getting Some Player

I also don't want this article to sound like the classic football supporter desperately trying to convince himself that a player suddenly isn't very good because he's leaving.

Manchester City are getting a footballer capable of doing things very few players can do. His close control is ridiculous, his ability to wriggle out of tight spaces can make defenders look stupid and, when he's confident, there aren't many players I'd rather watch running at a full-back.

Perhaps playing alongside the quality City possess will unlock even more from him. At Everton, Ndiaye has often been expected to be the creative spark. Give him better movement around him, more possession and players capable of finishing the chances he creates and maybe those numbers I criticised earlier suddenly shoot upwards. He's already off the mark for assists this season and with Erling Haaland instead of Beto up top, I imagine Ndiaye will get plenty more.

If that were to happen, £65million might eventually look like brilliant business for City. But right now, Everton have potentially turned a player they bought for around £15million two years ago into one worth more than four times that amount.

Where Does This Leave Richarlison?

The unfortunate casualty of City's late intervention could be the romantic Richarlison homecoming us Evertonians had started dreaming about.

The Brazilian had been linked with a return to Merseyside while Tottenham were negotiating for Ndiaye, and for a brief moment the whole thing had a beautifully ridiculous symmetry to it.

Everton sold Richarlison to Spurs for £60million in 2022. Four years later, Spurs were potentially going to give Everton roughly the same amount for Ndiaye before selling Richarlison back to us for around £35million.

Football heritage.

Whether that move remains possible without Ndiaye heading in the opposite direction remains to be seen, but I'd still love to see Richarlison back in royal blue. Not because he's necessarily a direct upgrade on Ndiaye at this stage of their careers. He's 29, has had his injury problems and there would undoubtedly be an element of nostalgia involved (and we get to sing his song again at the new stadium).

But we'd be bringing back somebody who understands Everton and has already shown exactly how much this club means to him. Sometimes that means more to me than all the fancy footwork in the world.

Everton Have 24 Hours – Get Spending

And this is where my attention immediately turns away from Ndiaye. £65million is only good business if Everton actually do something useful with it. We are potentially selling one of our most dangerous attacking players with barely any time remaining in the transfer window. That's a massive amount of creativity, ball-carrying ability and unpredictability walking out of the door.

Everton have spent years selling important players and then somehow emerging from transfer windows with another hole somewhere in the squad. This cannot be another example.

And for the love of everything holy, can somebody please buy a right-back? We've spent the opening weeks of the season watching Merlin Röhl fill in there. Tim Iroegbunam ended up playing there against Bournemouth. At this rate, Dewsbury-Hall will be overlapping Brennan Johnson against Manchester United next weekend.

Everton have ambitions of moving forward. Angus Kinnear has spoken about winning trophies. Moyes has a squad that should be looking upwards rather than nervously checking what's happening at the bottom, even if it pains him to say that.

Selling Ndiaye doesn't have to contradict any of that, but if we don’t replace him, then you can cancel what I’ve just said.

To be fair, Everton don't appear to be sitting around. Reports suggest a £40million deal has already been agreed with Monaco for Folarin Balogun, with Beto heading towards Fiorentina. That's a start, but replacing Beto isn't the same thing as replacing Ndiaye. The creativity and unpredictability disappearing to Manchester still needs addressing.

I'm gutted to see Ndiaye go. He has given Everton supporters some fantastic memories and his name is permanently written into the history of both Goodison Park and the Hill Dickinson Stadium. I'll remember the skills, the goals and that feeling whenever he picked up the ball and started running at somebody.

Prouder than ever to have been part of such a special moment yesterday and to have scored the final goals at Goodison Park.

Huge thanks to all the fans for making it unforgettable and for your support all along the season.

Up the Toffees ! 💙 pic.twitter.com/FeadnVRAMx

— iliman Ndiaye (@iliman_ndiaye) May 19, 2025

But if he wants to play at the highest possible level, Manchester City can offer him that. Everton, meanwhile, are receiving an enormous amount of money for a player they signed only two years ago.

So thanks for the memories, Iliman. Thanks for Goodison. Thanks for being the first at Hill Dickinson.

The only downside for me now is that I'll have one too many City players in my FPL team, so thanks iliman for the ensuing headache that will cause.