Negotiations for “technically brilliant” Arsenal & Man United transfer target could start at £100m

Arsenal and Manchester United are among the clubs to have been linked with Everton winger Iliman Ndiaye in recent times.

However, the Senegal international could cost huge money after his eye-catching displays during his time in the Premier League so far.

We’ve been informed of Man Utd having an interest in Ndiaye, while there’s also been the possibility raised that Arsenal go in for him.

The Gunners have missed out on Vinicius Junior and Ndiaye is emerging as one possible alternative in that position, according to the Independent.

Still, this surely won’t be an easy or cheap deal to get done for any interested clubs.

Everton tipped to ask for £100m for Iliman Ndiaye

According to former Everton scout Bryan King, it could be that Everton will try their luck with starting any negotiations for Ndiaye at around £100m, though perhaps closer to £80m is the more realistic outcome.

“If I was Everton, I’d say, right, £80m. Let’s start at £100m and then we see where we go from there,” King told Football Insider.

“Nobody’s going to pay £100m for him in the Premier League but the Saudi Pro League, they’re now in a stage where they are desperate to bring in name players.”

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It will be interesting to see how this develops, but it’s perhaps hard to see clubs forking out quite that much cash for Ndiaye.

Is Iliman Ndiaye worth £80-100m?

Ndiaye is a fine talent (described as “technically brilliant” by Pat Nevin, as per the Liverpool Echo), with his silky dribbling skills making him a joy to watch when he’s really on his game.

However, a return of just six goals and three assists for the 26-year-old isn’t that impressive, and ultimately a player costing such big money would need to offer a better guarantee in terms of end product.

Arsenal could do with an upgrade on Gabriel Martinelli on their left flank, but Ndiaye probably shouldn’t be their first choice as it’s such a step down after they pushed so strongly for a world class player like Vini Jr.

United, meanwhile, might also do well to add more options to their front three, but it’s not clear that Ndiaye would be enough of an upgrade on the likes of Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha.