Paul Heckingbottom vows to keep Iliman Ndiaye at Sheffield United amid Everton transfer interest
Sheffield United manager Paul Heckingbottom has vowed to keep Everton target Iliman Ndiaye at Bramall Lane next season, amid rumours of a summer move to Goodison Park.
The Senegalese international has been outstanding for the Blades this season, scoring 14 goals and registering nine assists as they secured a top-two Championship finish, confirming their place amongst the English elite for next term.
Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano confirmed on his Twitter account [25 April] that Ndiaye is set for a big move this summer, with Everton interested which was also previously reported by The Sunday Mirror [12 March].
Ndiaye’s contract at Bramall Lane runs out in 2024, giving interested parties a chance at securing a potential bargain deal but speaking to the Sheffield Star [2 May], Heckingbottom made it clear that he is going to be doing all he can to keep the 23-year-old at the club.
He said: “There’s going to be interest but we have to do all we can to keep him. And that’s what I will be doing, going forward. We know he’s a very special talent.”
Big move ahead
Ndiaye is surely set for Premier League stardom in the future and is 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 over the past two windows.
His 14 goals and nine 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, but any kind of deal right now seems increasingly difficult.
The Blues’ Premier League status for next season is seriously under threat, and given the club’s current position in the league table, Ndiaye could look at that and think he’d be best served plying his trade in the top-flight for Sheffield United or moving to an even bigger club.
Everton have no right targeting players of Ndiaye’s calibre right now and with relegation potentially on the horizon for the Toffees, it seems as though their focus should be on trying to keep the club afloat in a worst-case scenario rather than pursuing impossible pipe dreams.