Manchester City Seals £65m Deal for Iliman Ndiaye

Manchester City tore up the final day script and walked off with Iliman Ndiaye.

On a frantic deadline day, City dived in late to hijack Tottenham’s move for the Everton forward, agreeing a £65m package that underlined their intent to refresh an already frightening attack. The deal, reported by The Athletic, is built around an initial £60m fee with a further £5m in potential add-ons.

Spurs had turned to the Senegal international after failing to prise Cody Gakpo away from Liverpool. Gakpo himself had been on City’s radar, but when talks stalled for Tottenham on Ndiaye, the champions pounced. Quickly. Decisively. And with the kind of financial muscle that tends to end arguments.

For Ndiaye, there was no hesitation.

“It’s easy to make the decision about whether you want to be at Manchester City or not,” the 26-year-old said after sealing the move. “You can see the recent history; you want to be part of that project.”

The conversations with City’s hierarchy sealed it almost instantly.

“They talked to me about where we could go, what we could achieve with me in the team, and I was interested from the beginning,” he explained. “There was nothing else that I wanted other than joining Manchester City.”

This wasn’t a player hedging his bets. This was a forward who felt the door to the elite had finally swung open and sprinted through it.

“Obviously, you want to be part of this new project. I’ve seen recently what they’ve been doing, and I feel like I will fit right in it,” he said. “I’m super excited to start. It’s an unbelievable moment. I’ve worked so hard to get to this point and I’m super excited and really grateful for this opportunity.”

City’s late push for Ndiaye came at the end of a remarkable window crescendo at the Etihad. The Everton attacker arrived on the same day the club confirmed the £125m signing of Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, a fee that equals the British transfer record. The move reunites the Argentine with Enzo Maresca, a manager who knows exactly how to use his range of passing and tempo control.

Two Huge Deals

While City stacked their options, Tottenham were left scrambling. Having missed out first on Gakpo and then on Ndiaye, the north London club had to rip up their own shortlist and move fast.

They went back to Chelsea.

In the final hours, Spurs secured a loan for Mykhailo Mudryk, bringing in the winger from Stamford Bridge to work again under Roberto De Zerbi, the coach who first unlocked his potential at Shakhtar Donetsk. It was a smart salvage job, but not the attacking overhaul they had originally mapped out.

City, meanwhile, head into the season with Ndiaye and Fernandez added to a title-winning core. The champions didn’t just defend their position in the market on deadline day. They pressed high, forced the turnover, and finished ruthlessly.