It has been an excellent start to the 2025/26 season for Everton. David Moyes' side have won their last two Premier League games after a defeat on the opening day of the season away to Leeds United. The highlight so far is surely the 2-0 win in the first competitive game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium against Brighton.
There have been some standout players so far for the Toffees. Jack Grealish has been sensational, with four assists already to his name in just two top-flight starts. He, alongside fellow new signing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, has been nigh-on unstoppable so far this term.
The two new Toffees stars have formed a really strong partnership with fellow attacker Iliman Ndiaye.
Ndiaye’s start to the season
At 25 years of age, Senegal international Ndiaye is on the cusp of entering his peak years. It certainly feels like Toffees supporters are witnessing one of their most exciting attackers in years, given his start to the season and the form he has shown for the club so far.
Ndiaye
Last season, his first as an Everton player, the former Sheffield United star was excellent. He played 37 games across all competitions and scored 11 goals. Nine of those strikes came in the Premier League.
The 2025/26 campaign has begun in much the same fashion for the attacker. He’s played three top-flight games so far, bagging in two of them. The first strike was one of his most special, with Ndiaye scoring the first competitive goal at their new stadium on Bramley Moore Dock.
It is not just Everton fans who can see how good Ndaiye is. Pundits such as Jamie Carragher have taken note, too. The former Liverpool defender said last season that the Senegal international is “an absolute star”, summing up how Toffees supporters must feel about him, too.
With that in mind, it might be a surprise to learn that the 25-year-old is actually not among Everton’s highest earners. According to Capology, he is on just £45k per week at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Ndiaye-Everton
That is a figure that is far less than players in Moyes' squad who have faced criticism for performances rather than praise. There is one person in particular who springs to mind.
The Everton man who earns far more than Ndiaye
It is certainly a surprise that Ndiaye earns so little at Everton. Factoring in his relevant importance, it is not outlandish to think he should be up there with top earners Grealish, who is on £225k per week, and Jordan Pickford, who earns £125k per week.
Instead, shockingly, he earns less than someone like Michael Keane, who has not really covered himself in glory during his time as a Toffee, at least not to the same extent as Ndiaye. The centre-back is surprisingly in the top five pay brackets at Everton.
Everton defender Michael Keane
This term, an injury to Jarrad Branthwaite has seen Keane step into the side for the first three Premier League games and play 90 minutes in each. He also played the entire game in their Carabao Cup second round win over Mansfield Town.
Yet, over the last few years, Keane has barely featured under the likes of Sean Dyche and Moyes. Since 2022/23, the most league games he has played in one campaign have been 14, which was last season.
Keane - Last 3 PL seasons
Season
2022/23
2023/24
2024/25
Stats from Transfermarkt
Where Ndiaye has received lots of praise for his efforts in an Everton shirt of late, it has been the opposite for Keane. In fact, his namesake, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, once described his defending as “really poor.”
With all that in mind, it is a surprise to learn that he earns £70k per week at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. That is £25k more than Ndiaye, who has certainly performed better over a period of time for the Toffees than Keane has.
Michael Keane
Once Branthwaite is back in action, it will be interesting to see if Keane can keep his place in the Everton side. If not, perhaps club owners, the Freidkin Group, are better off cutting their losses soon and selling the defender, to help save room in the wage budget.