Everton favourite Romelu Lukaku has heaped praise on current star Iliman Ndiaye, labelling him as “technically one of the best”.
De Standaard have a big interview with the 33-year-old today ahead of Belgium’s clash with Senegal in the last 32 tomorrow evening.
Everton past versus present
The game has something of an Everton past versus present tinge to it, with former and current Toffees on either side.
Blues stars Iliman and Ndiaye and Idrissa Gana Gueye are current key players for the African nation, while Romelu Lukaku is one of the established stars for the Red Devils.
Lukaku, of course, has his own history on Merseyside. He remains Everton’s top goalscorer in the Premier League era and scored 87 goals in 166 games for the club.
He also managed 27 assists in those games. The Toffees are the club he made the most appearances for, scored the most goals for and made the most assists for too.
Ndiaye is yet to get close to that record with 17 goals and three assists in 71 games to date. But he has already made a big impact on this World Cup, with a goal and two assists in two games in the group stages.
What Romelu Lukaku said
Romelu Lukaku is seemingly a big fan of the 26-year-old. It appears he’s been watching his performances on Merseyside, and the international stage, closely. And he knows exactly what he’ll be coming up against tomorrow.
“Iliman Ndiaye is gifted and technically one of the best in one-on-one situations,” he said about the current Everton star.
“Ismaïla Sarr is dangerous, Sadio (Mané) is very good, and Nicolas Jackson has a lot of qualities.
“In midfield, you’ve got Pape Gueye, the left-footed midfielder from Villarreal, and Gana Gueye, who I used to play alongside (at Everton). At the back, Kalidou Koulibaly remains the leader of that team. We really mustn’t underestimate them.”