- Arsenal and Tottenham have both been linked with Iliman Ndiaye
- Reports suggest Everton and the Senegal international are yet to agree a new contract
- Growing interest underlines just how important Ndiaye has become to David Moyes
Everton supporters need no convincing about how good Iliman Ndiaye is.
If anything, the latest reports linking Arsenal and Tottenham with the Senegal international merely confirm what Evertonians have been saying since he arrived on Merseyside.
Good players attract attention. That’s obvious.
The problem for Everton is that this attention arrives at a time when Ndiaye’s contract situation remains unresolved.
According to recent reports, both North London clubs have joined the two Manchester clubs in monitoring developments as negotiations over a new deal continue. Whether either club turns that interest into something more substantial remains to be seen.
What is harder to ignore is what those links say about how highly Ndiaye is rated. Arsenal and Tottenham are not reportedly watching him because he’d strengthen their squads. He’d be a starter. or at least pushing for one. Even for the Premier League champions.
He’s that good.
Everton spent years looking for a player like Ndiaye
Perhaps this is why this story feels slightly different from the usual summer transfer tittle-tattle.
Everton have been linked with hundreds of attacking players over the years. Quick ones. Creative ones. Technical ones. Players who were supposedly going to transform the team.
Most never arrived. Some did and failed.
Ndiaye, who is currently with Senegal at the World Cup, is one of the few who actually delivered on the promise.
He is not perfect. No player is. But he is one of those footballers who lifts the crowd when he gets on the ball. Defenders back off. Supporters sit forward on their seats. Things happen.
Everton have not had enough players like that over the last decade. Which is exactly why other clubs are taking notice.
The calibre of interest tells the story
Everton have become accustomed to seeing their best players linked elsewhere. What makes this situation slightly different is the calibre of the clubs reportedly paying attention.
Arsenal are trying to find the final pieces that can turn them from Premier League champions into European champions. Tottenham are rebuilding with fresh expectations and the aim of Champions League football.
If both genuinely see value in Ndiaye, it says everything about how highly he is regarded beyond the Hill Dickinson. Even if the consensus is that his preference is Manchester.
Ndiaye offers versatility, energy and unpredictability. He can play across the front line, carry the ball under pressure and create moments out of nothing.
Qualities that are difficult to coach.
They are even harder to replace.
Everton cannot allow uncertainty to linger
Reports have suggested contract negotiations remain ongoing, with sticking points still to be resolved. Nobody outside the room knows exactly where things stand.
What is clear, however, is that uncertainty helps no-one except agents.
The longer discussions with Everton drag on, if indeed they haven’t stalled completely, the more stories appear and the more rival clubs will test the water.
Everton’s recruitment plans will dominate plenty of headlines between now and the end of the window.
New signings are exciting. As ever.
But there is a strong argument that one of the most important pieces of business Moyes and the club can complete this summer involves a player already in the dressing room.
Arsenal and Tottenham may or may not make a move. What matters is that Everton can find a way to remove the uncertainty.
Because players with Ndiaye’s blend of flair, energy and unpredictability are difficult to find.
Evertonians know that better than most.
