Everton's Stance on Iliman Ndiaye Amid Manchester United Interest

Manchester United have picked their moment. Champions League football secured, Michael Carrick confirmed in the dugout, a squad about to be reshaped. And already they’ve run into a brick wall painted blue.

That wall is Everton’s stance on Iliman Ndiaye.

The Senegal international has emerged as a serious target for United, who are intent on sharpening their forward line while they close in on Atalanta midfielder Ederson and work on a deal for Brentford striker Igor Thiago. Liverpool are watching the situation too, both clubs hunting a left-sided attacker with pace, intelligence and end product.

Ndiaye ticks every box. Everton know it – and are pricing him accordingly.

A £69m message to the market

Everton, according to The Athletic, are ready to slap a “prohibitive valuation” on the 26-year-old, demanding around £69m (€80m / $92.7m) before they even pick up the phone.

That number is not plucked from the air. It leans heavily on Anthony Gordon’s recent £70m move from Newcastle United to Barcelona, a transfer that has reset the market for Premier League wide forwards in their mid-20s. If Gordon is worth that, Everton argue, then Ndiaye – younger in Premier League years, versatile across the front line, and central to their plans – belongs in the same financial bracket.

In truth, the fee is as much a deterrent as a valuation. It’s a message to United, Liverpool and anyone else tempted to test Everton’s resolve: this will be expensive, awkward and time-consuming. Look elsewhere if you want an easy deal.

Contract stand-off with a World Cup backdrop

The tension stems from a contract impasse that has been simmering for a year. Ndiaye, signed from Marseille for just £15m in 2024, has turned down multiple new offers from Everton. He has three years left on his current deal, but he wants any extension to include an exit clause. The club do not.

That stand-off has emboldened suitors. United and Liverpool see a player entering his prime, unsettled just enough to listen, and currently preparing for the World Cup with Senegal. Perform well on the global stage and his price – and the pressure – only climbs.

On the pitch last season, Ndiaye justified the fuss. Deployed mainly on the right of David Moyes’ attack, he still found time to drift left, starting 11 games on that flank. Across the campaign he produced six goals and three assists, numbers that only tell part of the story. His movement, ability to receive under pressure and switch wings mid-game make him the sort of modern forward elite clubs crave.

Moyes draws a line

Everton’s financial reality means some sales are inevitable this summer. Balancing the books and funding new recruits will require tough choices. Moyes, though, has made it abundantly clear that Ndiaye is not one of them.

Speaking in April, the Everton manager did not dance around the issue.

“He is the last person I would consider selling,” Moyes said when asked directly about speculation over Ndiaye’s future.

He doubled down, stressing there were “others as well” he would be reluctant to lose, but underlining that he had “no interest in hearing the talk” around his key forward. For a manager who has watched squads dismantled too often, the logic is simple: it is already hard enough to build a team in the current climate, with supporters demanding instant returns and patience in short supply. Letting go of your best players only makes the job impossible.

So Everton push back. A long contract still in place, a manager publicly resistant, and a price tag that dares anyone to meet it.

United’s dilemma

For United and Carrick, this is the new reality of shopping in the Premier League. They want another wide attacker, someone comfortable off the left but capable of rotating across the front line. Ndiaye fits that profile, yet he is not the only winger on their list.

Do they spend a huge chunk of their budget on a player whose club are determined to keep him? Or do they pivot to alternatives in a market already inflated by the Gordon deal?

That is the decision waiting at Old Trafford.

Everton, for their part, have made theirs. If Iliman Ndiaye leaves Goodison Park this summer, it will not be quietly – and it certainly will not be cheaply.