Iliman Ndiaye has been heavily linked with a move away from Everton throughout the summer, with Al-Hilal emerging as serious contenders over the last month. Everton proved resistant to their initial efforts, however, insisting that they wanted as much as £80m to sanction a sale. Sport Witness covered a report at the end of the month detailing how the Everton forward had been offered £270,000 per week by the Saudi Arabian side.
Ndiaye’s father then shot down the rumours. “Many people called me to tell me that Iliman was going to leave. But rest assured, he’s not going anywhere,” he said. I even teased him with a few words in Arabic, and we had a good laugh. He let me know he had no intention of going to Saudi Arabia.” He also insisted that a move to Saudi would be a downgrade for his son at this point in his career, subsequently, he talked it down. “He knows he can earn a lot of money there, but he also thinks his level could drop. He’s not the type to prioritise money over his career,” he added.
Now Tavolieri reports that a transfer to Al-Hilal has been cancelled. According to his information, Iliman Ndiaye has decided to remain at Everton to ‘continue developing’. His plan is to try and secure a ‘major transfer’ in the ‘next transfer windows’.
Accordingly, Arsenal must look elsewhere for their upgrade on Martinelli, with reporter Ben Jacobs recently confirming Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye is on their radar. Martinelli is a target for both Roma and Galatasaray, and the Gunners are open to selling, providing they sign an upgrade first, of course.