Iliman Ndiaye's impressive display in Everton's 2-0 defeat at Manchester City seemed to open the eyes to many over his talents
It’s taken over a year, but it feels like the rest of the football world has just latched on to something that Evertonians have known since the start of last season about Iliman Ndiaye.
On Wednesday, Ndiaye joined Liverpool's Mohamed Salah as one of 10 nominees to be African Player of the Year, along with Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco; Victor Osimhen of Galatasaray and Nigeria; Serhou Guirassy of Borussia Dortmund and Guinea; Pape Matar Sarr of Tottenham Hotspur and Senegal; Frank Anguissa of Napoli and Cameroon; Denis Bouanga of LAFC and Gabon; Fiston Mayele of Pyramids and DR Congo; plus Oussama Lamlioui of RS Berkane and Morocco.
After turning on the style against Manchester City, the man who has already written himself into Blues history by netting their final goal at Goodison Park and first at Hill Dickinson Stadium has finally got a wider audience sitting up and taking notice. Ndiaye was sensational in the first half at the Etihad Stadium with David Moyes correct in his assessment that for long periods he was the best player on the pitch – and that was up against a squad valued at over a billion pounds.
It took a world class save from Gianluigi Donnarumma, arguably the best goalkeeper on the planet, to prevent the 25-year-old – who netted Everton’s equaliser at the same end in last season’s corresponding fixture – from opening the scoring and that came after some breathtaking build-up play. Not only did Ndiaye shrug off Jeremy Doku, one of the Premier League’s in-form left wingers this season – who went on to be hooked by Pep Guardiola as soon as his side had taken the lead – but he also gave the slip to Nico O’Reilly, a precocious prospect who combines the physicality of his imposing 6ft 4in frame with clever touches, as displayed by his assist for Erling Haaland’s opener here and his goal at Goodison Park in April, and that in itself is no mean feat.
As regular Blues watchers have witnessed for some 14 months now, it’s not just in attack where Ndiaye can turn it on though. Just bringing the ball out of defence, he left a trio of City players bamboozled with opponents as gifted as Phil Foden ‘The Stockport Iniesta’, Brazilian baller Savinho and Nathan Ake, all bamboozled by his dribbling. Such trickery has caught the eye of former Everton winger Pat Nevin who was in attendance at the game.
The Glaswegian, who signed for from Chelsea for £925,000 and played 150 games between 1988-92, scoring 21 goals for the Blues, told BBC Sport: “I often think of players who would be even more impressive playing with better sides, teams who have more of the ball and spend more time in the attacking third. Watching Everton's Iliman Ndiaye so far this season, I suspect he could do a phenomenal job if he was playing for Manchester City, Chelsea or Arsenal, he is that good.
“I hope he stays at the Toffees, but they might have to fight off bids from the bigger boys soon. Notice I don’t mention Liverpool in the shortlist. This is not because he isn’t capable, but I would rightly have an Evertonian lynch mob after me if I suggested such a thing!”
Snapped up from Olympique Marseille for £15million, Ndiaye’s first spell in the Premier League was just an 11-minute cameo for Sheffield United at the end of a 5-0 drubbing at Sheffield United on March 14, 2021, at an empty King Power Stadium due to coronavirus restrictions. The man who gets fans out of their seats has found a captive audience on Merseyside though and his terrace anthem which Norris Green singer-songwriter Ryan Rooney helped to compile has been going strong for over a year now.
Everton have already had to fend off interest for their biggest entertainer – who is poised to showcase his skills to a bigger audience next summer having netted for Senegal in their 4-0 win over Mauritania last week that clinched World Cup qualification – though with the Athletic reporting that Italian giants Internazionale attempted to land his signature in what would have been a morale-boosting £40million transfer swoop after their record-breaking 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in this year’s Champions League final. Responding to the speculation when speaking to the Blues’ matchday programme ahead of their 2-1 comeback win over Crystal Palace in their most recent fixture at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Ndiaye said: “I was always very keen to stay here and be part of this new chapter for Everton.
“As I always say, if there are rumours or interest like that, it must mean you’re doing something right, right? I’m really happy to be at this club and be part of a new project with the new stadium, new ownership.”