Six years ago Iliman Ndiaye was playing in the seventh tier of English football. On deadline day he joined Manchester City from Everton in a deal worth up to £65m: £60m up front, £5m in add-ons, and a five-year contract.
"I've worked my whole life for an opportunity like this," the 26-year-old Senegal winger said. "City are one of the best clubs in the world and I've seen them win everything as I've grown up. To be able to write my own chapter in a story that special is the chance of a lifetime and I'm determined to grab it with both hands."
Sunday league to Bramall Lane
At 19 Ndiaye was living in London, in the youth ranks at Boreham Wood and playing Sunday league on the side. Sheffield United invited him for a one-week trial. Two trial games later they signed him.
It took another 18 months before he appeared for the first team. In between came a loan at Hyde United in the Northern Premier Division, six divisions below the top flight, where he made six appearances. He was known for staying out on the training pitch long enough to risk missing the last train back to Sheffield.
"It's not always been easy in my career," Ndiaye said. "But I always had the belief that I could play for a team challenging for the biggest prizes and now I'm here."
His Premier League debut came against Leicester in March 2021. Then relegation, two Championship seasons, and 14 goals in 43 starts as the Blades went back up in 2023. Sheffield United sold him to Marseille that summer.
France did not suit him. Everton picked him up for an initial £16m in July 2024, and on Merseyside "Skiliman" became a favourite, scoring 15 and assisting four in 67 Premier League appearances.
Tottenham had him first, then lost him
Spurs agreed terms with Everton on the Friday night. The deal was built around Richarlison heading in the opposite direction, and when he could not agree personal terms with his former club, the whole thing fell apart. Ndiaye had also spoken to Al-Hilal earlier in the summer.
He becomes City's eighth arrival of the window, joining Elliot Anderson, Geronimo Rulli, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Allan Elias, Jeremy Monga, Pierce Charles and Enzo Fernandez, whose £125m move was confirmed the same day.
Is £65m the right price?
Depends where you look.
On the ball, few in the league are more watchable. Ndiaye completed 73 of Everton's 250 dribbles last season, the largest share any Premier League player took of his own team's total.
The output tells a flatter story. Nine goal contributions in the Premier League last season put him joint third at Everton, behind Beto (10) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (12). He created 36 chances, fourth at the club; James Garner created 26 more, and Jack Grealish managed eight more despite his season ending in January.
Since his Everton debut two years ago, 45 Premier League players have recorded more goal contributions than his 19.
Everton, for their part, have roughly quadrupled the £16m they paid Marseille. Their supporters will point at Savio going to Spurs for an initial £75m and argue they left money on the table.
Grealish has come the other way on loan and effectively replaces him. And with better players around him at the Etihad, the numbers that look modest now have room to move.
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