Manchester City sign Iliman Ndiaye in £65m transfer from Everton
Manchester City have completed the signing of forward Iliman Ndiaye from Everton.
The Athletic reported on Monday the clubs had reached a £65million ($87.8m) agreement in principle for the 26-year-old, consisting of an initial £60m plus £5m in potential add-ons.
The Senegal international has signed a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium.
The move for Ndiaye came after City’s pursuit of Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo stalled, as The Athletic reported on Monday the Merseyside club rejected a bid of up to £80m (€93m, $108m) for the Netherlands international. The weekend prior, Everton had reached an agreement in principle with Tottenham Hotspur for the Senegalese.
Spurs are set to complete a loan move for Chelsea forward Mykhailo Mudryk.
The signing of Ndiaye comes as his former side Everton have agreed a season-long loan deal for City winger Jack Grealish, The Athletic reported early on Tuesday. Everton have also reached an agreement for the signing of USMNT forward Folarin Balogun from Monaco.
Ndiaye started in both of Everton’s opening Premier League fixtures this term, after a 2025-26 campaign in which he scored six and provided three assists as a crucial part of David Moyes’ side. He declined multiple new contract offers last season with three years left on his Everton contract.
Ndiaye joined Everton from Marseille in 2024 for a fee of £15m (€17.7m, $19m) and registered 17 goals and four assists in 73 games for the club.
An uncharacteristic City transfer saga
Analysis by Manchester City correspondent Sam Lee
It has all happened very quickly but this has been quite the saga, and the kind of deal City have not been involved in for years.
As recently as the middle of last week, City had reached out to both Ndiaye and Gakpo at Liverpool. By Saturday night, City had convinced Gakpo to join them and prioritised that move, while Tottenham moved in on Ndiaye, which involved Richarlison going the other way.
Fast forward to Monday night and Gakpo cannot leave Liverpool as they cannot get a replacement, and Tottenham’s move for Ndiaye appears to have broken down over Richarlison.
City know they must sign a new forward this summer after selling Savinho and Omar Marmoush and so they quickly reignited their interest in Ndiaye.
The winger had a fine season at Everton and promises to bring chance creation and impressive work rate to the Etihad Stadium, although, a bit like Gakpo, it looks more of a solid than a spectacular signing.