Chelsea & Arsenal to Rival Tottenham for Iiman Ndiaye

NDIAYE OFF TO SPURS — THE TARGET WE TRACKED ALL SUMMER

Tottenham have agreed a £60m deal for Iliman Ndiaye — a player Chelsea admired and monitored right through the window. Here’s what’s happening, why we looked, and why we ultimately stood aside.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Tottenham have reached an agreement in principle to sign Iliman Ndiaye from Everton. The Athletic’s David Ornstein broke it, and since then multiple outlets have put the fee at around £60m. Fabrizio Romano reports personal terms are effectively settled, with a medical at Hotspur Way to follow before Tuesday’s 11pm deadline. Everton have granted permission for that medical to go ahead.

To be clear: this is reported and agreed in principle, not officially confirmed. No signature, no club announcement yet — so we treat it as advanced, not done.

In a separate deal — both clubs insist it is not a swap — Richarlison heads back to Everton for around £35m. That nets Spurs’ outlay on Ndiaye down to roughly £25m. Tidy business if it all lands.

Ndiaye was actually a Manchester City target first, in a package that would have sent Jack Grealish to Everton. Once City pivoted to Cody Gakpo, Spurs pounced within a day. Arsenal had him earmarked as a backup should their Julián Álvarez pursuit fail. He also qualifies as a Premier League homegrown player through his old Sheffield United registration — a handy bonus for Spurs’ squad list.

football.london — Ndiaye medical & Tottenham transfers latest

THE CHELSEA ANGLE

This one matters to us because Ndiaye has been on our radar for much of the summer. Si Phillips (SPTC) reported back in June that the Blues had sounded him out as an attacking option, and that interest was talked up again late in the window as the market shifted. football.london list Chelsea among his admirers too.

But admiring a player and acting decisively are two different things. Our headline attacking business this summer was Morgan Rogers, and it’s telling that Spurs were the only club handed the authorisation to complete a deal. We liked him; we never pushed it over the line.

NIINII’s TAKE

Here’s the thought that crossed our minds — and it is opinion, not reporting. At a £60m gross fee that Spurs are effectively turning into ~£25m net, you can see the logic of a buy-and-flip: bring in a proven, homegrown-eligible Premier League attacker, and if the profit is there down the line, take it. The catch is that the idea only works if squad space opens up — say Jamie Gittens moving on and Mudryk heading out.

Two problems with our own daydream. Sky Sports report Gittens is staying — Alonso wants him and the Roma loan talk is effectively dead. And Mudryk, now that his suspension has been lifted, is back in the building and fighting for minutes rather than nailed on to leave. The space never really materialised, and Rogers was always the priority. File the buy-and-flip under “fun to imagine, never that close.”

THE RICHARLISON SIDE

The other half of the story: Richarlison returns to Everton, the club where he made his name, four years on from his up-to-£60m move to Spurs. He had asked to leave and was left out of Roberto De Zerbi’s squad at the weekend. Publicly, this is a player who forced the exit himself.

One Blue Lions aside — our read, not confirmed: we’re hearing he isn’t exactly thrilled about the Everton destination specifically, even if he wanted out of north London. That runs against the public “pushed to leave” narrative, so take it with the usual deadline-day pinch of salt.

WHERE IT LEAVES US

Net-net: a player we liked joins a rival, at a price that looks like a steal once the Richarlison money is in the pot. No panic here — Rogers is the marquee attacking addition and the depth is there — but credit where it’s due, that’s a smart bit of window management by Spurs.

Good player, smart deal — just not our deal. On to the next one.

— Blue Lions FC | bluelionsfc.com

Note: Reported as an agreement in principle — medical and official confirmation pending as of 31 August 2026. Fee and status per The Athletic (David Ornstein), Sky Sports, Fabrizio Romano and football.london; Chelseainterest per Si Phillips (SPTC).