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Iliman Ndiaye fits Everton bill for Sean Dyche after 'Premier League-ready' transfer claim amid pursuit of Sheffield United scorer
Everton must secure the services of Sheffield United striker Iliman Ndiaye, after Sean Dyche’s recent transfer admission.
The Sky Bet Championship goal-getter has been something of a cult hero at Bramall Lane with 12 goals to his name so far this season as the Blades look to secure automatic promotion back to the Premier League.
The Sunday Mirror [12 March] claimed the Toffees, West Ham and Newcastle United are all keeping tabs on the versatile forward who proved the Blades’ “goalscoring hero” in their FA Cup win over Tottenham on 1 March.
The Star reported on 31 January that the Toffees made a last-ditch attempt to sign Sheffield United star Ndiaye in a deal worth around £25m+ add-ons.
No deal materialised, with Sheffield United managing to keep their star man for the remainder of the campaign, but that shouldn’t stop the Blues from returning with another move for the fleet-footed star after Sean Dyche’s recent transfer admission.
The former Burnley manager confessed [via Liverpool World, 17 February] ahead of the club’s 1-0 win over Leeds on 18 February that the club will be searching for “Premier League-ready” strikers during the off-season as he finally looks to significantly bolster his attacking options.
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He said: “During my time here, I sat here for some 48 hours more or less here all day and night with all the relevant people doing as best as they can.
“What I would say, to share a view of it, you may have well noticed how many strikers are out there, what is the market you’re looking in, how many are out there and are they Premier League ready?
“You’re not looking at development players because we have that in Simmsy [Ellis Simms] who is learning his trade.
“Let’s have it right, you’re looking at people who can affect it straight away and that’s not an easy market anyway for anyone.”
And in Sheffield United’s goalscoring star, Everton may have already found their Premier League-ready solution. The 23-year-old has already proven he can deliver against one of the English top flight’s elite after his winner against Spurs in the FA Cup.
Ndiaye is surely set for Premier League stardom in the future and the type of forward the Toffees should be targeting, given his telling quality, and unpredictability in the final third. The club are desperately short of attacking options after selling Richarlison and Anthony Gordon for big money in the past two windows.
His 12 goals and seven assists in a fruitful and influential 2022/23 campaign show Ndiaye is ready for the step up in his career and the Toffees should certainly have enough in the bank to make him their top target this summer.
For now, though, the focus remains on Premier League survival. Relegation back to the Championship would be disastrous for the club, especially for their recruitment ambitions.
If Everton can put an unbeaten run together in the coming weeks, then they could well potentially start discussing serious transfer targets ahead of the 2023/24 season.