Early afternoon yesterday, we published an article reporting that Everton had agreed to sell Iliman Ndiaye to Al Hilal for €75m. It was wrong.
That report was based on a social media post falsely attributed to The Athletic‘s David Ornstein, from a fake account impersonating him. There was no deal agreed, and the report was unfounded. The original piece was removed and we apologised at the time — this article corrects the record with accurate reporting.
Here’s the true picture, based on reporting from The Athletic’s ever-reliable Paddy Boyland:
Everton are aware of Al Hilal’s interest in Ndiaye, but there remains significant work to do before any deal could be completed. The Saudi Arabian side have received enough encouragement from Ndiaye’s camp to consider making a bid, though talks between the two clubs are yet to begin.
Everton are expected to set a lofty valuation on the 25-year-old forward, who has three years remaining on his contract.
Boyland’s report draws a comparison to the £70m Barcelona paid Newcastle United for Anthony Gordon this summer, suggesting Everton may be looking for a fee in that region.
We take sourcing seriously, and the earlier piece fell short of the standard we hold ourselves to.
We’re grateful to readers who flagged the issue, and we’ll continue to update this story only as verified information becomes available.
