Liverpool Pursue Iliman Ndiaye as Summer Transfer Window Closes
Liverpool’s summer has been full of names, noise and not enough signatures. The window is creeping towards its close and, around Anfield, the mood is shifting from patient to urgent.
Three new faces have arrived under Andoni Iraola, but nobody inside the club is pretending that’s enough. Not after Mohamed Salah’s exit. Not with Hugo Ekitike injured. If Liverpool are serious about jumping back into the Premier League title fight, another three or four signings feel less like luxury and more like necessity.
Time, though, is running out.
Liverpool step up as Barcola and Mbaye talks stall
Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye remain the closest to walking through the door. Both are admired, both are being worked on. But there are no agreements on fees, no personal terms locked in. Nothing that can be called a done deal.
Liverpool have already been burned once this summer, watching Yan Diomande slip away. They cannot afford to reach the final weeks of the window with just one or two attacking options on the table and no leverage.
So the recruitment team, led by Iraola and sporting director Richard Hughes, have started to widen the net. And that is where the story takes a dramatic turn across Stanley Park.
‘Direct talks’ with Ndiaye’s camp
According to Caught Offside, Liverpool have held “direct talks” with the representatives of Everton forward Iliman Ndiaye over a possible move.
“Sources in the industry confirm that Liverpool’s interest in Ndiaye is genuine,” the report states, noting how unusual it is for the Reds to even explore business with their Merseyside rivals.
The move could hint at concern over the Barcola deal, or act as a way of cranking up the pressure on PSG to soften their demands. The report is clear on one thing: the motives are not confirmed, but Liverpool are among the clubs who have engaged directly with Ndiaye’s camp, leaving the door open for the situation to “develop into something more concrete.”
For a club that almost never crosses the divide with Everton, that alone is a headline.
A £75m gamble across Stanley Park
Any deal would be ferociously complicated. Everton are not in the habit of strengthening Liverpool, and certainly not cheaply.
Caught Offside claim the Toffees have set a £75 million price tag for the Senegal international. The expectation is that Liverpool, if they ever came to the table formally, would face an even higher demand.
Ndiaye, 26, offers exactly the kind of flexibility Iraola craves. He can operate on either flank or as a number 10, already knows the Premier League inside out and brings a direct, aggressive style that would plug straight into Liverpool’s attacking structure.
He is not Salah. Nobody is pretending otherwise. But nine goal contributions last season point to a player on an upward curve, with room to grow inside a more dominant, chance-heavy side.
Rivals lurking, reality biting
Liverpool are not alone in the chase. Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal are all mentioned as suitors, and on paper each has a cleaner path to a deal than their Merseyside neighbours.
If David Moyes – now in charge at Everton – were to push the price north of £100m, Liverpool would simply step away. The numbers would not stack up, whatever the temptation.
Yet the fact Liverpool are even in the conversation for Everton’s standout attacker says plenty about the urgency of their rebuild. It underlines how far they are willing to stretch convention to give Iraola the firepower he needs.
The clock is ticking. Barcola, Mbaye, Ndiaye – one of these moves has to land. If it’s the one that drags a star across Stanley Park, this window will be remembered at Anfield for a very long time.
