Ndiaye at the Center of Manchester City and Arsenal's Transfer Battle
Manchester City and Arsenal are locked on the same target – and Everton know it.
talkSPORT report that both of the Premier League’s heavyweights have zeroed in on Ndiaye, one of the division’s fastest-rising attacking threats, as they look to sharpen already fearsome forward lines. Scouts from the Etihad and the Emirates have been tracking the Senegal international closely, and the race is beginning to tighten.
Everton, though, have drawn a thick line in the sand.
The club have slapped an £80 million price tag on Ndiaye, a valuation that underlines just how central he has become to David Moyes’ plans and how highly they rate his upside. With the forward tied down on Merseyside until the summer of 2029, the Toffees hold a powerful hand. They can wait. The bidders cannot.
That leverage has grown even more important after Ndiaye’s stance this summer. The 24-year-old has refused to commit his long-term future to Goodison Park, turning down a new contract offer in recent weeks. It was a clear message: he is ready to test himself at the very top of European football.
City and Arsenal heard it loud and clear.
This is not the first time the blue half of Liverpool have braced themselves for a possible Ndiaye exit. Earlier in the window he came close to a lucrative move to Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, a transfer that would have seen him follow a growing line of European names heading to the Middle East. That switch collapsed before the finish line, but the size of the interest from Riyadh underlined how far his reputation now stretches beyond England.
Arsenal’s pursuit adds an extra layer of intrigue. Mikel Arteta has been searching for a forward to complete his attacking jigsaw, someone who can both finish chances and knit moves together. The dream signing remains Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez, but the Argentine’s preference for a move to Barcelona has turned that chase into a near-impossible task. Alvarez is understood to favour that difficult route to Camp Nou, forcing Arsenal to work through contingency plans.
Ndiaye sits near the top of that list. His versatility is a major draw: he can operate anywhere across the front three or slide inside as a creative No.10. For a coach obsessed with positional fluidity like Arteta, that kind of profile offers a ready-made alternative if the Alvarez pursuit ends in frustration.
On the other side of the title divide, Manchester City are approaching the situation with their usual cold-eyed efficiency. Enzo Maresca’s recruitment team have tracked Ndiaye’s progress since his return to England from Ligue 1 and see a player who ticks their familiar boxes: technically sharp, relentless out of possession, comfortable in tight pockets of space. In short, a forward who could be dropped straight into City’s intricate attacking patterns.
Ndiaye’s impact at Everton since arriving from Marseille in 2024 explains why the queue is forming. He adjusted quickly to the Premier League’s physicality and tempo, becoming a key outlet in Moyes’ system. Six goals and three assists in 32 league appearances last season might not place him alongside the division’s headline scorers, but those numbers only tell part of the story.
He links play. He drags Everton up the pitch. He turns defensive scrambles into counter-attacks, and his movement has become a reference point for the Toffees’ entire build-up. Inside Goodison, they see an indispensable piece of their structure, not a player to cash in on lightly.
His rise has not been confined to club football either. With Senegal, Ndiaye has already shown he belongs on the international stage. He featured at the World Cup, scoring once and providing two assists as Senegal reached the last 32. That tournament exposure only strengthened the sense that his next step would come at one of Europe’s elite.
Now the picture is clear. Everton have the contract and the valuation. Ndiaye has the ambition. Manchester City and Arsenal have the need.
Who blinks first?
