Arsenal are “showing an interest” in Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye, along with Manchester City, according to reports.
TalkSPORT claim that the Gunners may consider pivoting towards signing the Senegalese international if they do “miss out on [Julian] Alvarez.”
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Ndiaye’s asking price is said to be around £80m, and many fans on X have questioned whether the player is worth that much:
80m for him?. I'd rather they jus go buy potential then this.
— wuler (@yumsing010) August 27, 2026
Jog on £35-40m player at best
— AFCBen (@GoonerBen11) August 26, 2026
This guy is not worth the 80mill
— Olusoji David' (@OlusojiDav68196) August 26, 2026
80 million is mad
— Michael Carpenter (@MJCisWrestling) August 27, 2026
80m for ndiaye? tell me why i’m paying premium for a discount player
— DuckDice (@duckdiceio) August 26, 2026
🤣80m for Ndiaye is ridiculous. Go and get Antonio Nusa of Leipzig
— dom (@dom_N5) August 26, 2026
Arsenal are operating in a crazy market
If you look at Ndiaye’s numbers last season, you would be hard-pressed to justify his reported valuation. He scored 6 goals and provided 3 assists in 34 appearances.
However, the prices that Premier League clubs have been paying for wingers have skyrocketed. Tottenham splashed out an initial £75m on Man City’s Savio despite the fact that he found the net just once in the Premier League last campaign.
The short supply of top-quality wide players means they are costing exorbitant amounts, but it remains to be seen whether Mikel Arteta’s side are prepared to match Everton’s price for Ndiaye.
How is Ndiaye an alternative to Alvarez?
Some may be wondering why Arsenal would change their minds and pursue a winger if they can’t secure the services of the Atletico Madrid striker.
However, manager Mikel Arteta has been pretty flexible about what type of forward he wants. The pursuit of Vinicius Jr prior to switching targets to Alvarez indicates that Arteta is open to signing a left winger or a centre forward.
If Gabriel Martinelli does leave for Saudi Arabia, you could argue that a wide player is a more urgent need, so the interest in Ndiaye (who can operate on both flanks) does make sense in that regard.
For now, the Gunners are waiting patiently to see what Alvarez decides to do, but with the transfer deadline fast approaching, they can’t afford to wait too much longer.