Manchester City sign Everton's Iliman Ndiaye for $88 million after Cody Gakpo move fails

Manchester City have wrapped up the £65 million ($87.9 million) acquisition of Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye.

The Blues will pay an initial £60 million ($81.1 million) for the 26-year-old, with a further £5 million ($6.8 million) available through add-ons. City were eager to bring in a wide forward following the departure of Omar Marmoush to Tottenham Hotspur on an initial loan deal, with a £60 million obligation to make the transfer permanent next summer.

Ndiaye had been identified by the Blues earlier this summer as a potential replacement, with City seeking someone comfortable operating from wide positions but also capable of playing centrally to ease some of the attacking burden on Erling Haaland, as per the Manchester Evening News .

Ndiaye has found the net 17 times for Everton since making the move to Merseyside from Marseille in 2024. He featured in each of the Toffees' opening three fixtures of the campaign but has now linked up with City and could make his debut for the Blues in Saturday's home game against Coventry City.

The Senegal international had also attracted interest from Tottenham, who had been hoping to finalize a deal that would have seen former Everton forward Richarlison return to the Hill Dickinson Stadium. However, an agreement could not be reached, prompting City to reignite their pursuit of Ndiaye after the Blues' hopes of securing Liverpool's Cody Gakpo had fallen through.

City had initiated discussions with Liverpool regarding a potential £80 million ($108.1 million) transfer for the Netherlands international, an agreement the Anfield club were prepared to approve on the condition they could secure a replacement. However, Andoni Iraola's team have been frustrated in their efforts to bolster the squad, and Gakpo's proposed Etihad move was called off, leading City to revive their pursuit of Ndiaye.

Upon completing his move to the club, Ndiaye said: "It's easy to make the decision about whether you want to be at Manchester City or not. You can see the recent history; you want to be part of that project. They talked to me about where we could go, what we could achieve with me in the team, and I was interested from the beginning. There was nothing else that I wanted other than joining Manchester City.

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"It's an unbelievable moment. I've worked so hard to get to this point and I'm super excited and really grateful for this opportunity. Obviously, you want to be part of this new project. Obviously, I've seen recently what they've been doing, and I feel like I will fit right in it. I'm super excited to start."

City Sporting Director Hugo Viana commented: "Iliman is a very talented footballer. He's had to work incredibly hard to reach this level and in my first conversation with him it was immediately obvious how grounded he is and the determination he has to be the best player he can be.

"I've no doubt City fans will get a thrill seeing him in action for us. We know this club develops players. We make a commitment to every single player we sign that we will make them better footballers.

"I am really excited to see the level Iliman can reach in the years ahead because I know for sure working with Enzo and his staff is going to ensure he becomes a top-class Premier League player."