Everton in lucky escape after rejected £40million Iliman Ndiaye bid
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Credit: Imago, Hasan Karim - Breaking Media
Oliver Walton
Tue 2 September 2025 18:03, UK
Everton should be thankful that Iliman Ndiaye’s head was not turned by Inter after they saw a £40million bid for his services rejected by the Toffees in the summer window.
Iliman Ndiaye was one of the Toffees’ standout players last term after he joined the club from Marseille for a fee of around £15million [BBC].
The Senegal international notched 11 goals in 39 appearances to end his debut campaign as the club’s top-scorer, and he also had the distinction of scoring the last goal at Goodison Park in a 2-0 win over Southampton.
His talismanic ability from attacking midfield was a rare shining light for the club after some years of turmoil under Sean Dyche, and it was imperative for them to keep him this summer ahead of their first campaign at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The window is now over and he is still an Everton player, so they have succeeded in keeping hold of him after a good start to the new season, but they should feel lucky that he stayed in the face of major interest from a European giant.
Now that the window is over, The Athletic (2 September) have revealed that a £40million enquiry from Serie A titans Inter for Ndiaye was immediately rejected by the Toffees during the summer.
It is unclear when the San Siro side sent a bid to sign the 25-year-old, but regardless, Everton should feel like they had a lucky escape considering the size of Inter and their potential to be successful in Italy.
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They finished second in Serie A last term, just one point behind eventual league winners Napoli, while they also enjoyed a great run to the Champions League final before being well-beaten by PSG in the final in Munich.
AppearancesGoalsYellow Cards41134Ndiaye’s Everton career stats
Cristian Chivu’s side are potentially a more attractive prospect to play for than Everton, despite Moyes leading their revival this season to potentially finishing in the top-half for the first time since 2021.
With that said, they should be thankful that Ndiaye did not have his head turned by the Italian giants’ interest, especially considering that certain Premier League players, such as Alexander Isak and Yoane Wissa, did kick up a fuss at their respective clubs this summer and were eventually able to get moves away over the line.
It is possible that Inter would have been successful with an approach if they had raised their bid to around £60m or above, and so them not doing so has meant that fans can enjoy at least another few months of the playmaker before more interest potentially comes in January.
Former Toffees CEO Keith Wyness recently revealed to Football Insider that Ndiaye is happy at Everton and always looked set to stay this summer, and they needed to keep hold of him, not only for on-field reasons, but also to prove that they are serious about making a play for the top-half of the Premier League in 2025/26.
Selling one of their best players would have potentially put others off joining, but they have instead been able to coax big names like Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to the club as they aim high under Moyes this season.
Credit: Manh Tung, Breaking Media
Ndiaye has already started the new campaign well, with two strikes in four games, while Everton have signed Grealish on loan from Man City and he has four assists already this term.
Dewsbury-Hall has impressed in both of their league wins up to now, while also registering a goal and an assist last time out against Wolves, and the Toffees look like they could be a genuine force due to their array of talent in forward areas.
Whether they will be able to make a push for Europe is unclear, but it is certain that they will have a much better chance with Ndiaye in their ranks than if he had been sold, and so they will be thankful that he has stuck around despite interest from one of the biggest clubs in world football.