Everton have signed versatile forward Iliman Ndiaye from Olympique Marseille for an undisclosed fee, the Senegal international penning a five-year contract until the end of June 2029.
The 24-year-old, who can play in multiple attacking positions, becomes the Blues’ third addition of the summer transfer window following the return of Jack Harrison on a season-long loan from Leeds United, and young central midfielder Tim Iroegbunam from Aston Villa.
An international teammate of Idrissa Gana Gueye, Ndiaye joined Marseille last August, going on to make 46 appearances for the French giants, including 14 in their run to the Europa League semi-finals.
A technically-gifted forward who is strong at carrying the ball and taking players on, Ndiaye revealed the key factors to wanting to sign for Everton and what he hopes to bring to Sean Dyche’s team to build on their progress from last season.
“I am so pleased to be an Everton player,” he told evertontv. “The main reasons I wanted to join were how big the club is, its history and the part I can play in helping the team in the forward direction it is going in. I’m so excited and can’t wait to get going.
“Kevin [Thelwell] and the manager both spoke to me and made me feel wanted. My Senegal teammate Idrissa also played a part and spoke highly of the Club and a lot of good things.
“As a player, I like to dribble, show skills and get the fans out their seats. I want to score goals and get assists but I also like to work hard. I love running, chasing the ball, getting the team high up the pitch. As a striker, you’re the first defender. I love doing that bit.
“I’m so excited. I want to come in and carry on from the team’s progress last season. I feel like I’ll be ready to help and I just want to give it my all to get this club higher up the table.
Born in France, Ndiaye started his youth career at local club Rouen and later signed for Marseille’s academy. From there, he moved to Dakar Sacre-Coeur in Senegal, the country of his father’s birth, before moving to England and joining Boreham Wood.
He signed for Sheffield United in August 2019 and made his name as a professional at Bramall Lane, proving a key attacking talent for the Blades.
Scoring twice on his full debut in a 6-2 win over Peterborough United in September 2021, Ndiaye hit the winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur in March 2023 to send Sheffield United through to the FA Cup quarter-finals.
The attacker was vital to the Yorkshire club during the 2022/23 campaign, scoring 14 goals and providing 11 assists to help secure United’s promotion to the Premier League.
On playing a part in Everton’s last-ever season at Goodison Park – as well as revealing his ambition once the Blues move into their new world-class waterfront stadium for the start of 2025/26 – Ndiaye added: “It’s funny because someone said to me, ‘Imagine you scoring the first goal at the new stadium’. It would be a quiz question for so long, ‘Who scored the first goal for Everton at the new stadium?’. At that moment, my daughter, who can’t really talk yet, said, ‘Dada’! Great answer! That’s my target.
“I’ll be very proud to be part of the last season to play Goodison Park, too. There’s history here. I’m really happy to now be part of that.
“I’m so excited to play in front of all these fans because when you watch the games, you hear them on the TV. I’ll try to get them off their seats and they will try to push me on the pitch to get them off their seats. I’m just so excited.”
Everton manager Sean Dyche said: “Iliman adds versatility to our attacking options and strengthens our forward line as we look to build on the progress we made as a team last season in terms of chances created.
“He is still young but has experience at European and international level and we feel he will be a really positive addition to our squad.”
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Iliman adds versatility to our attacking options and strengthens our forward line as we look to build on the progress we made as a team last season in terms of chances created.
Sean Dyche
Director of Football, Kevin Thelwell, added: “Iliman is a player we have admired for a long time and we are delighted to bring a much sought-after player of his quality to Everton.
“We think he will excite Evertonians and give our attack a different dimension. He has performed in Europe with a big club like Marseille and, at 24, we are confident he can be an excellent player for us for many years to come.”
