Image source, Manchester CityImage caption, Iliman Ndiaye has joined Manchester City from Everton in a £65m deal
ByAdwaidh Rajan, BBC Sport journalist and Matthew Hobbs, BBC Sport journalist- Published1 September 2026, 21:02 BST
Manchester City have signed winger Iliman Ndiaye from Everton in a deal worth up to £65m.
The deadline day move for the Senegal winger, 26, is worth £60m plus a further £5m in add-ons - a little over six years since he made his professional debut playing in the seventh tier of English football.
"I've worked my whole life for an opportunity like this," said Ndiaye, who has agreed a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium.
"City are one of the best clubs in the world and I've seen them win everything as I've grown up. To be able to write my own chapter in a story that special is the chance of a lifetime and I'm determined to grab it with both hands.
"It's not always been easy in my career, but I always had the belief that I could play for a team challenging for the biggest prizes and now I'm here."
Ndiaye made 74 appearances and scored 21 goals for Everton since joining them from Marseille in 2024.
Tottenham had agreed terms with Everton on Friday night for Ndiaye, when it looked as though Richarlison would move the other way in a separate transfer.
However, sources indicated Richarlison failed to agree personal terms with his former club and as a result, Spurs were unable to proceed with the Ndiaye transfer.
The move comes on the same day City agreed to pay a joint-British transfer record fee of £125m for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez.
The Argentian international is set to become City's eighth summer arrival with Enzo Maresca's side having also signed Elliot Anderson, Geronimo Rulli, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Allan Elias, Jeremy Monga and Pierce Charles.
Is £65m a fair price for Ndiaye?
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Figure caption,How Ndiaye made it to Manchester City and the Premier League
In a summer of highly-inflated transfer fees, value has become increasingly hard to determine.
On one hand, the Senegal international is a player of superlative skill, evasive, quick and wonderfully entertaining with the ball at his feet.
Ndiaye was responsible for 73 of Everton's 250 completed dribbles last season, the highest share of any Premier League player.
Everton fans may also point to recent moves in the Premier League involving City, such as the sale of Savio to Tottenham for an initial £75m, as further evidence that the club should have demanded more for Ndiaye.
On the other hand, Everton are effectively quadrupling the initial £16m they paid Marseille to sign Ndiaye two years ago for a player whose underlying numbers, at this stage at least, are not truly elite.
In the Premier League last season, Ndiaye only ranked joint third at Everton alone for goal contributions (nine), with Beto (10) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (12) providing more.
It is reasonable to assume that those numbers for Ndiaye will improve in a more attacking team at City but his general creativity is also middling as things stand.
He created 36 chances in total in the Premier League last season, ranking him only fourth at Everton. Toffees midfielder James Garner created 26 more. Jack Grealish, whose season ended in January because of injury, created eight more.
Grealish has effectively replaced Ndiaye at Everton following his loan move from Enzo Maresca's side.
Casting the net a little wider, 45 Premier League players have recorded more goal contributions than Ndiaye's 19 since he made his Everton debut two years ago.
As a 26-year-old set to be surrounded by better players, it would be no surprise should his numbers flourish at the Etihad.
But even in today's money, £65m for Ndiaye's current output may not be as questionable a deal as it sounds.
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