Tottenham Miss Out as Iliman Ndiaye Chooses Man City

Having conceded defeat in the chase for Cody Gakpo — and footed the bill for Tottenham’s Italian-food transfer strategy summit — Roberto De Zerbi turned his attention to Iliman Ndiaye.

De Zerbi maintained that, “for once”, he was not the one growing impatient or pushing for extra arrivals to “complete” the squad before the approaching deadline.

Rather, he said Tottenham’s owners and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham wanted to continue doing business, while sporting director Johan Lange had been given “ideas to make solutions”.

During that spaghetti-fuelled summit, Everton’s Ndiaye emerged as a realistic option. His future is now poised to become one of deadline day’s major stories, with Manchester City set to sign him after Liverpool reconsidered selling Gakpo.

At 26, Ndiaye is entering his prime. He has already established himself in the Premier League and, while he is a Senegal international born in France, he could qualify to be registered among the eight homegrown senior players permitted in a 25-man squad.

Ndiaye’s talent is unmistakable. There are no lingering concerns over his ability or technique, while his dribbling carries a distinctive rhythm he credits to childhood sessions devised by his father and performed to music.

“His shoulders rock, almost as if he’s dancing,” said Jack Lester, Sheffield United’s former head of player development who is now part of Brentford’s coaching staff. “He goes past defenders, puts them down with his upper-body movements. He does things you can’t coach.”

There are similarly few concerns about Ndiaye’s character, bravery or work rate. “He’s a lovely lad, always smiling,” Lester said. “Very popular. Fearless, a tough kid. Strong on the ball and not nice to play against.”

Questions remaining tend to revolve around his ability to exert his talent and influence games and maintain the tactical discipline required to succeed among the best teams in the Premier League. Ndiaye has worked hard to improve on this part of his game since breaking into Sheffield United’s team when still very raw and relatively uncoached at the age of 21.

The two years at Everton have shaped him into a Premier League footballer and a move to Spurs would have challengened him to develop further, to withstand greater competition for places, restore the club to past glories, cope with the pressure and scrutiny of a big-money move and establish himself as an elite player.

De Zerbi often claims a special connection with creative players, whether wide attackers or No 10s, because these were the positions he played. But he also knows those players must contribute goals and assists. Hard work alone will not cut it.

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When he signed Savio from Manchester City, the Spurs boss told him to up his goal ratio and target 10-12 per season, which he said was the mark of the world’s best wingers.

Ndiaye has broken into double figures in a top-flight campaign only once, his first season at Everton when he scored 11 in 37 in all competitions, nine of them in the Premier League. Last season, there were only six in all. One season at Marseille produced four goals in 46, after which he was sold to Everton for £17million when De Zerbi arrived at the Stade Velodrome in 2024. 

Spurs would have seen him primarily as a left-sided attacker and in their starting line-up – something he will not get guaranteed at City due to the likes of Jeremy Doku.

Ndiaye is versatile enough to play either side or as a No 10 but Spurs would have needed him on the left, where Son Heung-min has proved a tough act to follow and Mathys Tel still flatters to deceive. Savio can play either side but is most comfortable on the right, as are Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski. Wilson Odobert, who likes to play on the left, and Xavi Simons, who has been most effective for Spurs as a No10, are recovering from serious knee injuries and not expected to be available until next year.

While now unlikely, a deal for Ndiaye would have offered De Zerbi a fresh new frontline with him and Savio either side of Omar Marmoush, none of whom were at the club when the season started with a dismal 3-0 defeat at Brentford.

Although Marmoush got the nod at centre forward ahead of Dominic Solanke against Newcastle on Saturday, flexibility will matter as Spurs trial-and-error their way to the best formula. All coaches value those who can operate in more than one position. Since taking control in April, De Zerbi has been committed to a 4-2-3-1 shape.

Ndiaye, Kudus and James Maddison might expect to challenge to start at No 10 but so far this season Spurs have reinforced midfield with Conor Gallagher or Mateus Fernandes in that role. Until they are stronger at the back and settled into a rhythm, it would be a surprise to see De Zerbi trade this ball-winning power for greater creativity.

For one thing, the play-making No 10 has become increasingly rare in the Premier League. More often they have come to be valued more for changing a game from the bench or starting when the opposition can be relied upon to sit deep and surrender possession.

See Eberechi Eze’s limited opportunities at Arsenal or Florian Wirtz’s struggles at Liverpool. See Rayan Cherki fight for a starting place at Manchester City. Those who regularly include a playmaker might do it as part of a front three not a front four. See Cole Palmer at Chelsea. Bruno Fernandes has been Manchester United’s best player for years but the best place to play him in their changing systems has often been a contentious issue.

Spurs will face a similar puzzle when Maddison, Kudus and Kulusevski are ready to start, but De Zerbi won’t care about that. He will just long for a day when he has all the options at his disposal and can find the best combinations.