Man City Agree £65m Preliminary Deal for Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye, Medical Imminent

Manchester City have reached a preliminary agreement with Everton to sign Senegalese forward Iliman Ndiaye for a reported fee of approximately £65 million, according to The Athletic, with the 26-year-old expected to undergo a medical examination on Tuesday morning — the same day as the summer transfer window closes on August 31, 2026. The deal, if completed, would mark one of the most significant deadline-day moves of the summer and the culmination of a remarkable journey for a player who only joined Everton from Marseille two years ago.

The Athletic reported on August 31, 2026, that the two Premier League clubs have come to terms in principle, with the agreement “nearing completion” for the forward. No official announcement had been made by either Manchester City or Everton at the time of reporting, meaning the deal remains subject to medical clearance and final contractual sign-off. The move is not yet official or confirmed.

The Deadline-Day Scramble: How the Deal Developed

The summer transfer window of 2026 has been defined by blockbuster late moves, and Ndiaye’s potential departure from Goodison Park is among the most dramatic. According to The Athletic’s report published on August 31, 2026, Manchester City had been monitoring the Senegalese international for several weeks before accelerating their pursuit in the final hours of the window. The clubs are understood to have reached a preliminary agreement for a fee in the region of £65 million, though no official statement had been issued at time of writing.

Everton’s willingness to sell Ndiaye — a player who had become a fan favourite since arriving from Olympique de Marseille — reflects the financial pressures that have long defined the Merseyside club’s transfer policy. The Toffees have operated under strict profitability and sustainability rules in recent seasons, and offloading a significant asset on deadline day aligns with a pattern of selling key players to balance the books. This summer, the club also faced internal controversy over a separate transfer saga: Everton blocked Harrison Armstrong’s £40m move to Nottingham Forest after fan backlash, demonstrating just how fraught the club’s transfer decisions have become under the scrutiny of a passionate fanbase.

Who Is Iliman Ndiaye? Career Background and Rise to Prominence

Born on May 6, 2000, in Rouen, France, to Senegalese parents, Iliman Ndiaye is a technically gifted, predominantly left-footed forward capable of operating across the front line. He holds dual French-Senegalese nationality but has committed his international career to Senegal, for whom he has become an important attacking option under the Africa Cup of Nations-winning set-up. Ndiaye is 26 years old, with his prime years ahead of him — a factor that makes him an attractive long-term investment for a Manchester City side rebuilding under Pep Guardiola.

Ndiaye’s journey to Premier League prominence was unconventional. He came through the youth academy system without landing at a top-flight club immediately, spending formative years in lower leagues before his quality began to attract serious attention. His breakthrough came at Sheffield United, where he was a standout performer in the Championship before the Blades earned promotion to the Premier League. According to his Wikipedia profile, his performances at Bramall Lane drew widespread acclaim and triggered a bidding war that saw him depart for Marseille in the summer of 2023 for a reported fee of around £15 million.

At Marseille, Ndiaye showed his quality in Ligue 1 before Everton moved decisively to bring him back to English football, signing him in the summer of 2024. The Toffees saw Ndiaye as a player who could provide attacking spark and help in their fight to stabilise in the top half of the Premier League table.

Ndiaye’s Statistics at Everton: The Numbers Behind the Transfer Fee

The reported £65 million valuation placed on Ndiaye by Everton reflects both his output and his potential. According to available statistics, Ndiaye made 67 Premier League appearances for Everton, contributing 15 goals across his time at Goodison Park. Across his top-five-league career — spanning Sheffield United, Marseille, and Everton — he registered 18 goals and 7 assists in 98 appearances, according to data cited by StatMuse. In the 2024-25 season specifically, he scored 9 Premier League goals for Everton, followed by 6 in 2025-26 before his potential exit on deadline day.

The goal-return figures alone may not fully justify a £65 million outlay on their own — but Ndiaye’s value lies beyond the raw numbers. His directness, dribbling ability, and capacity to play in multiple positions across the forward line have made him a coveted commodity. For a Manchester City side that has been extensively reshaping its attacking options, Ndiaye’s versatility and pace represent precisely the profile Guardiola has sought to add depth and unpredictability to his front line.

What Ndiaye Would Bring to Manchester City

Manchester City’s attacking options have undergone significant transformation heading into the 2026-27 season. The club has been active throughout the summer window, adding players to bolster their squad depth, and Ndiaye would represent a further investment in their forward line. The Senegalese international’s ability to carry the ball at pace and create overloads in wide areas makes him well-suited to the positional play that defines Guardiola’s system.

City have already strengthened in other areas this summer. According to BBC Sport, the club agreed a deal for Ndiaye in the final hours of the window, underlining Guardiola’s determination to use deadline day to make a statement signing. The potential arrival of Ndiaye would give City an exciting option capable of covering multiple positions — from the left wing to a more central striking role — and provide competition that elevates performance standards across the squad.

It is worth noting that this summer window has been one of the most active in recent Premier League history for high-profile attacking transfers. The movement of elite forwards between clubs has reshaped the landscape of the top flight, with deals such as Rafael Leão joining Galatasaray for €45m reflecting a broader trend of world-class attackers moving in unexpected directions as the market reaches new levels of financial activity.

Everton’s Transfer Window: Sales, Strategy, and Fan Sentiment

For Everton, the potential sale of Ndiaye represents another painful but financially necessary decision. The Toffees have spent much of the past several years navigating the twin pressures of Premier League survival and regulatory compliance with profitability and sustainability rules. Selling an asset of Ndiaye’s calibre — for a fee that would represent a substantial profit on his acquisition cost — provides vital breathing room within those financial constraints.

However, the human cost of such decisions is not lost on Everton’s fanbase. Ndiaye had become a genuinely popular figure among supporters at Goodison Park, known for his energy, directness and willingness to take on defenders. His departure — if confirmed — would represent a significant moment for a club that has been asking its supporters to accept repeated sales of talent in order to ensure the club’s long-term sustainability.

Everton’s deadline day has itself been a subject of intense scrutiny in 2026. The club’s earlier decision to block Armstrong’s move demonstrated a new-found resolve to resist pressure where it served the club’s sporting interests — but the Ndiaye situation reveals that when the financial case is compelling enough, even popular players can be moved on. The two decisions together paint a nuanced picture of a club trying to balance sustainability, sporting ambition, and supporter relations simultaneously.

Ndiaye’s International Career: Senegal’s Key Attacker

Beyond his club career, Iliman Ndiaye has established himself as a key figure in the Senegal national team — one of Africa’s most powerful footballing nations. Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2021 and have consistently qualified for major tournaments, including the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Ndiaye has been part of that exciting generation of Senegalese talent, offering a dynamic, unpredictable attacking option alongside the more established names in the squad.

His decision to represent Senegal — despite holding French nationality — was a conscious and deliberate choice that has defined his identity as a footballer. In interviews prior to 2026, Ndiaye had spoken of his pride in wearing the Senegal shirt and his desire to help the Lions of Teranga compete at the very highest levels of international football. That international profile adds a further dimension to his marketability and to the global interest generated by a potential move to Manchester City — one of the world’s most-watched clubs.

Playing regularly in the Champions League — which a move to Manchester City would almost certainly guarantee — would represent the pinnacle of Ndiaye’s club career to date, and the opportunity to test himself in European football’s premier club competition may well have been a key factor in any personal decision to push for the move.

The Wider Context: Manchester City’s Summer Rebuild

Manchester City’s summer transfer activity in 2026 has been considerable. Pep Guardiola’s side had already secured several significant additions before the window entered its final hours, with the club investing heavily across multiple positions to address the natural attrition that comes with sustaining dominance over an extended period. The potential addition of Ndiaye at £65 million would be among the most expensive of those moves, reflecting just how highly valued top-tier Premier League attacking talent has become in the current market.

City’s approach to the window has been characterised by both strategic planning and opportunism — moving decisively when the right targets become available. The Ndiaye deal, according to The Athletic’s August 31 report, appears to have developed rapidly in the final hours, suggesting that it was opportunity as much as long-term planning that accelerated the move. Whether that represents a calculated final piece of the jigsaw or a more reactive response to events elsewhere in the window remains to be seen once the full picture of City’s summer becomes clear after the deadline passes.

What is clear is that City’s ambition remains undimmed. The club’s willingness to commit in the region of £65 million for a forward in the final hours of the window underlines that the Abu Dhabi-backed project retains both the financial firepower and the footballing conviction to compete aggressively for the game’s top talents — even on deadline day, even at significant cost.

What Happens Next: Medical, Confirmation, and Debut Timeline

According to The Athletic’s reporting, Ndiaye is expected to undergo a medical examination on Tuesday morning — September 1, 2026 — with the transfer window having closed at midnight on August 31. If the medical is passed and all contractual details are finalised, an official club announcement from Manchester City would follow, at which point the move would be confirmed.

Should the transfer be completed, Ndiaye could potentially feature for Manchester City in their next fixture, though Premier League registration deadlines and squad list requirements may affect exactly when he would be eligible to play. Guardiola is expected to integrate him gradually, though the Senegalese forward’s adaptability and Premier League experience mean he should be up to speed relatively quickly compared to a player arriving from a foreign league.

The summer window of 2026 has delivered a series of seismic transfer stories, from blockbuster completed deals to dramatic deadline-day developments. The Ndiaye situation — a preliminary agreement pending medical, announced on the very final day of the window — encapsulates the high-stakes, high-drama nature of modern football’s transfer market. As of August 31, 2026, the deal is not yet official, no announcement has been made, and talks remain ongoing pending completion of the medical process.

Key Facts at a Glance

• Player: Iliman Ndiaye, 26, Senegalese forward
• Current club: Everton (Premier League)
• Destination: Manchester City (Premier League) — subject to medical
• Reported fee: Approximately £65 million (preliminary agreement)
• Status as of August 31, 2026: Preliminary agreement reached; medical expected Tuesday morning; NOT yet official
• Source: The Athletic, reported August 31, 2026
• Everton PL career: 67 appearances, 15 goals (StatMuse)
• Top-5-league career totals: 98 appearances, 18 goals, 7 assists (StatMuse)

This is a developing story. No official announcement has been made by Manchester City or Everton. The transfer remains subject to medical clearance and final contractual agreement. This article will be updated as the situation develops.

Sources

• Manchester City reach £65m agreement in principle for Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye — nytimes.com
• his Wikipedia profile — en.wikipedia.org
• BBC Sport — bbc.co.uk
• Manchester City agree £65m deal to sign Iliman Ndiaye from Everton — sports.yahoo.com
• Deal Agreed: Man City Gazump Tottenham to Sign Iliman Ndiaye, Medical Booked — givemesport.com

Photo: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons