**Manchester City** have signed **Iliman Ndiaye** from Everton in a transfer that is worth up to **£65 million**, while **Jack Grealish** is set to return to **Hill Dickinson Stadium** on a season-long loan.
It is a set of circumstances that aligns with the trajectories of the two players in the last two years.
·**Ndiaye now at the English elite**
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Ndiaye did not have an easy path to the top. He famously featured for Rising Ballers, a team that spotlighted unsigned talent, at the grassroots level before earning his chance at **Sheffield United**.
Four years in Yorkshire culminated towards a terrific **2022/23 campaign** as he registered **14 goals** on the way to promotion, but his name would not be in lights in the **Premier League** for a little while.
The French-born attacker returned to **Marseille** for a year, having been on the books of the club in his youth, then he opted to return to English shores for a fee of around **£15 million** to play in Merseyside.
Across two campaigns, he was a joy to watch for the _Toffees_. His journey through the lower leagues of English football helped hammer home the value of the ‘dirty work’ so respected in the division. He is a player willing to get stuck in, run the channels and play with the defensive discipline demanded by **Sean Dyche** and **David Moyes**. Of course, what he does with the ball is what makes him stand out.
Known for his close control technique and creativity in small spaces, Ndiaye also netted **15 times in the Premier League** for Everton. He is an entertainer with the talent and drive to scale up to a higher level in the topflight.
**Erling Haaland**, **Rayan Cherki**, **Jeremy Doku**, and **Antoine Semenyo** formed the most feared attack in the division, and this addition allows **Enzo Maresca** more talent to toy with.
·**Grealish gets his place of comfort**
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**Jack Grealish** is the cautionary tale of what could go wrong with this transfer for his old teammate.
The Englishman was once the darling of Holte End, helping **Aston Villa** get promotion from the **Championship** before earning the right to captain his boyhood club as they fought for survival.
The most fouled player in the **2019/20 Premier League** season, he was integral in the first five months of the next season to the side sitting in the top half of the table. An old school maverick, the **£100 million** question was whether he would be allowed to play with freedom under **Pep Guardiola**.
Stationed on the left flank in a structured setup among many other stars, Grealish struggled to set the world alight in his first year at the **Etihad Stadium**. The treble was the highlight of his spell with the side, but the team never truly became his — and he eventually has become surplus to requirements.
Going over a year without a goal, he was excluded from the **Club World Cup** squad last summer, and the exit door beckoned as Moyes made the move for his services on a season-long loan deal.
·**An instant impact on Merseyside**
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Immediately, the mid-table maverick was back. Grealish grabbed **two assists in each of his first two games** for the _Toffees_, earning a **Premier League** Player of the Month nomination for the first time.
A **foot injury** against the _Villans_ in January ended his season. Grealish returned to City and came on as a substitute in the **Community Shield**, but he was always likely to go back out of the door. He has now returned somewhere his spirit should feel freest and Everton will have an entertainer to enjoy.