Evertonians are in love. They can’t deny.
For one of their longest away days of the season last weekend, the 496-mile round trip to Ipswich was made memorable by their new No 10. From Senegal to Bramley Moore, Iliman Ndiaye is the one that they adore.
Signed from Marseille for an undisclosed fee over the summer, the 24-year-old has instantly built a connection with a fanbase that have found a song for the ‘magic’ man inspiring the club’s autumn resurgence.
Ryan Rooney – a 22-year-old lifelong Everton fan who grew up in Norris Green, Liverpool – came up with an ode to Ndiaye on social media which was adopted instantaneously on the away terrace at Portman Road.
Speaking to the club’s official website, Rooney explained why he feels Ndiaye has quickly endeared himself to supporters.
“For me I think the type of player he is, he’s exciting and in a few of his interviews he said that he’s an exciting player. The ball seems to sort of stick to him, he’s great at dribbling and he’s scored a few goals now,” he said.
“I think for me personally, with his attitude when he joined the club, he was respectful, talking about how he wants to play at the new stadium and how he wants to get the fans off the seats.”
It is a love affair which could well have begun 12 months ago, had Everton boss Sean Dyche had his way.
“We liked him when he was at Sheffield United,” said Dyche following the 2-0 win at Ipswich. “We tried to take him then and we couldn’t.”
In the end, Everton could not compete with Marseille’s offer of around £20m. Ndiaye had also previously spent time in the Ligue 1 club’s youth set-up meaning there was an emotional pull taking him back to France.
Ultimately, Ndiaye’s boyhood dream turned into a nightmare. Just three goals and five assists last campaign left supporters underwhelmed.
The player told Sky Sports over the summer that he “hadn’t felt himself” – but working under three different managers certainly had not helped during a volatile season at the Stade Velodrome.
Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell sensed an opportunity to make Ndiaye feel loved again, with the club’s financial outlook easing. Senegal team-mate Idrissa Gueye also played an influential role in convincing his countryman of the career change.
Speaking on the day of his unveiling in early July, Thelwell said: “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.”
Recruitment has been a big issue, putting it mildly, on the blue half of Merseyside over the past eight seasons across the Farhad Moshiri years.
The question being debated among supporters somewhat scarred during this period from seeing capable players effectively lose their way in the glare of the Goodison spotlight was, how big an impact would the Marseille misstep have on the player Everton were getting?
During these opening eight rounds of Premier League fixtures, however, it is clear that Ndiaye has got his confidence back – and he is playing with the same swagger that made him Sheffield United’s talisman during their promotion-winning campaign.
It is not just his attacking output. Remarkably, Ndiaye ranks fourth among all players for possessions won in the defensive third – despite being an offensive player.
Everton’s average possession this season is 37.25 – the lowest of any team in the division – and so having a player who can take the ball in tight spaces, win fouls and work equally as hard in tracking back is proving an invaluable asset.
The next challenge is for Ndiaye to produce the same level of intensity across 90 minutes.
“He is still learning about the Premier League, he is still developing,” said Dyche.
“In the first half [against Ipswich] I thought a bit of his game wasn’t where it should be, apart from his fine finish, but I think he’ll continue to learn about what we are and what the Premier League is because he’s obviously limited in his depth of experience. I think he’s a very good player and he continues to show that.”
He has only completed two games from start to finish in the league so far, but the signs are that with each passing outing he is adapting well to the robustness required in the Premier League.
“Yes, I’m happy… I couldn’t be happier,” Ndiaye told the club’s media this week. “I can play better and, more importantly, get some assists and goals which I need to add more to my game.”
Back in August, it was his substitution at home to Bournemouth with the side leading 2-0 which sparked a seismic collapse.
Dyche refused to admit the change had a bearing on the outcome but the manager appears to have learned from that experience, keeping Ndiaye on the field in both subsequent home games against Crystal Palace and Newcastle.
What has aided the player’s seamless transition to a new club has been the position he has made his own. Dwight McNeil’s reinvention as a No 10 has allowed the Senegalese to play on the left of Everton’s attack – an area of the pitch where he was devastating at Sheffield United.
In the early weeks of the season Dyche had trialled using Ndiaye more centrally, notably in the Carabao Cup against Doncaster and Southampton, but the experiment proved less effective.
Fulham visit Goodison Park on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, and the outlook surrounding the club’s final season at the old ground is now far more positive than it was just four weeks ago.
Without a point from the opening four matches, Everton had made their worst start to a top-flight campaign since 1958-59 and had become just the second team in Premier League history to lose back-to-back games having led by two goals in both. Their 13 goals conceded was by far the worst record in the division.
“It was such a worrying start but certainly eight points from the last four games have made things a lot more positive”, Sue Smith told the Football Show. “The off-field situation seems to be looking more positive, and now on the field they’re picking up points.
“Ndiaye has been a real stand-out performer already. He’s a proper fans’ favourite. He does things that we haven’t seen from Everton players across a long period of time.
“The two clean sheets in a row is big because so much of what was good about last season was their defensive record. They hadn’t shown that in the opening few games.”
Ndiaye played a big role in preserving one of those shutouts, producing a remarkable goal-line clearance in the draw with Newcastle. It underlined how the defensive turnaround following those four opening defeats has been a collective effort from the front.
Indeed, Dyche’s side have gone from being the worst team defensively across the first four fixtures to one of the best in the four matches since.
Ndiaye’s ball-carrying ability is dragging Everton up the pitch and up the table.
His chance creation is providing the perfect balance to Dyche’s naturally conservative tactics, but it is just as much his industry off the ball – honed from his days working his way up the English pyramid from non-League Boreham Wood to the Blades – which has led to him being serenaded as the new-found hero.
Mohammed Kudus (49) is the only player in the Premier League who has attempted more take-ons than Ndiaye’s 38. It has proved to be a masterstroke moving McNeil centrally to cater for Ndiaye’s qualities.
McNeil has six goal involvements – three goals, three assists – in six league games since moving in from the left. The next objective is for Ndiaye’s consistency to permeate the team as a whole.
His performances – already drawing comparisons among fans with Steven Pienaar’s displays in an Everton shirt – have set a new standard that others must follow. Too often, even under Dyche, there have been false dawns where an unbeaten run has preceded a drought.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s overall play has been encouraging this season, but the striker will be frustrated by his goal return over the past few games where chances have come and gone.
The hope is that having a player as clinical as Ndiaye now in their ranks, others will learn to become more ice cold when those opportunities arise in future.
Marco Silva once again returns to Goodison this weekend knowing his Fulham side are facing a far stiffer test than against the dysfunctional outfit which started the campaign. With Ndiaye in such scintillating form, Everton will be confident their mini-revival can continue a while longer.
Watch Everton take on Fulham live on Sky Sports Premier League this Saturday with kick-off at 5.30pm – stream with NOW.