Credit: Imago

Jacob Raw

Tue 2 June 2026 12:10, UK

Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye are two players that Everton dream of having on their books next season, but it’s not that simple.

The Toffees are set to pass up the opportunity to activate a £50million buy option in Grealish’s loan deal from Manchester City, and will instead try to negotiate a lower price.

David Moyes has already admitted that he hopes to have the 30-year-old at Hill Dickinson next season, but he’d most likely say the same about Ndiaye.

However, there is a terrible transfer scenario where the Toffees could have just one of them.

Grealish looks likely to stay at Everton beyond this campaign just gone, but more rumours have circulated on Ndiaye’s future.

Everton cannot sign Jack Grealish and let Iliman Ndiaye go

Ndiaye has been subject to Premier League interest in recent months, with the likes of Tottenham, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Man City all said to be keeping tabs on the winger.

The Senegalese international has been a key player for Moyes this term, and in an ideal world, the Everton boss would have both him and Grealish to choose from next season.

There is a scenario where Grealish does return to the Toffees, but one where Ndiaye heads in another direction in the same window.

So much of the good that we saw from Grealish was due to the fact that Everton’s attacks were spread from wing to wing, hence the fall of Ndiaye when the former got injured.

Losing Ndiaye could be detrimental to how Grealish performs, and then we know how the Englishman can be like when his head drops.

Everton don’t have Ndiaye contingency plan; here’s why

In recent days, there have been rumours among Evertonians that Ndiaye will be leaving the Toffees this summer, though this has not been reported by anyone credible, as of yet.

Like every summer window, the Blues are linked to many players, some are footballers that fans will have never heard of.

But the most worrying part about Ndiaye’s potential exit is that Everton have nowhere near a player of his level ready to come in, should he leave.

To leave you with some of the names that Everton have transfer listed as wing options to buy this summer, Esmir Bajraktarevic, Edon Zhegrova, and former Finch Farm man Isaac Price, among others.

That’s not very inspiring.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Goodison Park.