I saw Iliman Ndiaye feed off Everton fans' energy - transfer talk threatens to break that bond. Christopher Beesley discusses Iliman Ndiaye's Everton future and his relationship with the supporters in this week's Royal Blue column.
Fan Favorite Under Scrutiny
Iliman Ndiaye has been a fan favourite at Everton since signing from Marseille two summers ago. Along with back-to-back trips down the East Lancs Road, as Everton go to the Etihad Stadium and Old Trafford just 10 days apart in March, a quirk of the Premier League fixtures for the 2026/27 season sees David Moyes' men host Manchester United in the first game after the summer transfer window closes.
Will Iliman Ndiaye still be wearing a royal blue jersey come September 5? Could he even be lining up against them for the Red Devils? Ever since The Athletic ran an article on June 2 stating that Ndiaye's camp had rejected “multiple” new contract offers, the winger's future has come under increasing scrutiny.
Letting His Football Do the Talking
For most of last season, Ndiaye let his football do the talking. Despite this correspondent being a regular fixture in post-match mixed zones, he only stopped once to speak, after the opening home game when he netted against Brighton & Hove Albion. And quite right too. He had just written himself into the Everton annals by completing a unique double.
Having netted the Blues' last goal at Goodison Park – the final two in fact, against Southampton – he had followed that up by registering their first in a competitive match at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Afterwards, I reminded Ndiaye that his infant daughter Ayla had predicted he would write himself into history on this landmark occasion when he first signed for the club in July 2024 and he dedicated the goal to her.
He replied: “Yeah, it means a lot. Obviously when you play football you want to create history, so it felt good. The question was asked to me about ‘who’s going to score the first goal at the new stadium?’ and my daughter just said ‘Dada’ so that goal was for her. It was amazing.”
Bond Under Threat
You'd hope that something as special as that would help create a special bond between player and club. However, despite Senegal pair Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye both being given hero's returns on coming back (seemingly) triumphant from the Africa Cup of Nations – we'll have to wait and see how that appeal pans out – the former spent the build-up to the World Cup talking to other media outlets about his future.
He told France Football: “I'm certain the story isn't over at all with Marseille,” and declared to SPORTbible: “I want to be playing in Europe, in the Champions League,” while also making thinly veiled digs at Everton's displays. There's a right way and a wrong way of going such candid critiques of the team. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye were a couple of star performers who both struggled with their form during the run-in.
The £25million purchase from Chelsea found the right tone with his Instagram post that read: “Awful end to the season after a promising campaign, miles off it to be honest. A long summer now to review and come back bigger and better next year. Thanks for all the love in my first season here.” Contrast that with Ndiaye's: “It (the season) has gone okay, personally, I think I could have been better. The start of the season was very good but the second part, not so much. I don't think it's fatigue. For me, the team has not been at its best. You can speak individually, but when the whole team is not working, you can't really say this player is fatigued or not doing well.”
Lack of Accountability?
While there's nothing wrong with being ambitious – all footballers would like to play in the Champions League of course – there seems to be something of a lack of personal accountability within Ndiaye's words. If he'd had taken some of those gilt-edged chances he'd been presented with against Man City and Crystal Palace last month then he could well have been playing in continental competition with Everton, rather than what seems to be an attempt to frame himself in the shop window.
There is potential for it get messy with Ndiaye, who until recently seemed to reciprocate the appreciation he received from the Everton fanbase. That would be a shame. Last July, when I was reporting on the Blues at the Premier League Summer Series, I was in the room at the Men in Blazers' event at the Racket on Manhattan's West 16th Street when he seemed to feed off the New York crowd's energy and joined in with a rendition of his song.
I'd hope he isn't now trying to create a wedge between himself and Blues to help facilitate a move as it would be a great shame to break that bond. Although he is a hugely gifted player, who is great to watch, he also needs to remember that his career had stalled at Marseille before he was given the opportunity on Merseyside to showcase his talents on the Premier League stage.
Transfer Interest
Joe Thomas has reported in the ECHO that Ndiaye is among Man United's shortlist of potential summer targets with the Daily Mail claiming that both Arsenal and Man City are also among his admirers. However, given the player is under contract until 2029, Everton do not want this transfer to happen and are under no obligation to entertain interest.
For too long now, Man United have presumed they can just come and take what they want from Everton. Alex Ferguson, whose tough negotiating over Dion Dublin prompted Howard Kendall to quit after his board wouldn't back him over an increased price, once got a taste of his own medicine when he was on the receiving end of some 'hairdryer treatment' from a Scouse nan. Bill Kenwright's mother Hope picked up the receiver and delivered a verbal volley over Wayne Rooney but the Blues' boy wonder still left for Old Trafford.
The Scot then invited long-serving Blues boss Moyes to his house to tell him he was going to be the next Manchester United manager and once in place, Moyes tried to get Marouane Fellaini and Leighton Baines to join him. A £28million offer for the pair was deemed “derisory and insulting” by Everton and United would land Fellaini alone for just £500,000 less later that window, despite him having a £23.5million release clause earlier in the summer.
Even when Romelu Lukaku departed the Blues for the Red Devils in a club-record £75million move in 2017, with Paris Saint-Germain splashing out £198million on Neymar and £163million on Kylian Mbappe the following month, there was a feeling among some Evertonians that they had still been left short-changed. However, when Sir Jim Ratcliffe and company launched their parsimonious pursuit of Jarrad Branthwaite in 2024, they were sent packing.
Everton's Stance
Everton could make a huge profit on Ndiaye this summer, more than quadrupling their outlay from just two years ago, but as Moyes said himself, why would they want to get rid of their best players? The Blues have still got a long way to go until they're back reaching their levels of old but having started a Ndiaye-inspired new chapter by the banks of the Mersey a year ago, the hope must be that the tide is finally turning when it comes to retaining their stars and only selling key squad members on their terms.
