Tottenham Joins £80m Ndiaye Transfer Battle

Tottenham Hotspur have thrown their weight into one of the summer’s most intriguing transfer sagas, joining Manchester City and Arsenal in the race for Everton star Ndiaye.

A club that has already blasted past the £300 million mark in this window is not supposed to be shopping for one more headline signing. Yet under Roberto De Zerbi, Spurs are behaving like a team that has no intention of easing off the accelerator.

They have Omar Marmoush in. Savio has arrived from Manchester City. The attack has been remodelled, re-energised, reimagined. Still, De Zerbi wants another wide forward of genuine top-tier quality before the deadline slams shut — and attention has swung firmly towards the Senegal international lighting up Goodison Park.

Cody Gakpo had been the name circling around North London for weeks. That noise has faded. Ndiaye is now front and centre.

A three-way Premier League tug-of-war

The move from Spurs turns an already delicate situation into a full-blown auction. Manchester City have been tracking the 26-year-old as a potential answer to recent departures in their forward line. Arsenal have kept a close eye on developments as they look to add another cutting edge option in wide areas.

Now Tottenham are at the table, and they are not hiding it.

Speaking on Friday, De Zerbi laid out the club’s stance with unusual clarity. "I didn’t expect a transfer window like we have done," he admitted. "I think we can do one player more in one specific position. Yesterday we went to dinner with the owners, Johan [Lange, sporting director] and Vinai [Venkatesham, chief executive] and we spoke about this. All of us are on the same page and a very good connection."

That is as close to a public green light as it gets. Spurs are not done. Not even after a record-breaking outlay.

Everton dig in

The problem for Tottenham, City and Arsenal is simple: Everton do not need to sell, and they certainly do not need to sell cheap.

Ndiaye is tied down on Merseyside until the summer of 2029. He has already turned down a new contract, but the length of his existing deal gives Everton enormous leverage. The club have slapped an £80 million valuation on their prize asset — a figure designed to test the resolve of even the Premier League’s wealthiest operators.

The message from Goodison Park is blunt: if you want him, pay up.

David Moyes, back in charge at Everton and fully aware of how fragile a squad can become if a star is sold under pressure, sounded relaxed when asked about the situation on Friday.

"We’re certainly not in a hurry to sell our best players, that’s for sure," he said. "As far as I know, we’ve got nothing to be concerned about, we’ve had no contact from any club. Somebody told me we had contact with Al-Hilal during the summer, we had nothing from them."

Publicly, at least, Everton insist the phone has stayed quiet.

A summer of twists for Ndiaye

For Ndiaye, this window has already veered off course once. Earlier in the summer he looked set for a lucrative switch to the Saudi Pro League, with Al-Hilal widely reported to be closing in on a deal. The move appeared almost done before the player dramatically reversed course.

He chose to stay in the Premier League. That single decision has changed the landscape.

Once it became clear he wanted to remain in England, the league’s elite circled quickly. City saw an opportunity to refresh their attacking options. Arsenal, already stacked in the final third, recognised the value of adding another versatile, direct forward. Now Tottenham, fuelled by De Zerbi’s demand for one more wide attacker, have joined the queue.

The stakes for Spurs

For Spurs, this is about more than just adding another name to a long list of signings. De Zerbi has been backed heavily; the squad is being reshaped in his image. Marmoush and Savio bring movement and unpredictability. Ndiaye would add power, penetration and a proven end product from wide areas.

He is the type of signing that signals intent not just to compete for the top four, but to crash the title conversation.

Tottenham’s hierarchy clearly sense that one more decisive move could tilt the balance of their season. De Zerbi’s comments about alignment with the owners, Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham underline that the club’s powerbrokers are ready, if the right player becomes available.

The question now is whether anyone is prepared to test Everton’s £80m barrier — and whether the Toffees, under no immediate pressure to sell, would blink even then.

In a window already defined by big numbers and bigger gambles, does someone push all their chips in for Ndiaye?