How Everton Would Really Evaluate an Iliman Ndiaye Sale

A potential £70 million offer from Saudi Arabia for Iliman Ndiaye would inevitably dominate headlines. Supporters would debate whether Everton should accept, while attention would quickly turn to how the club should respond.

The reality, however, is more complex.

Football clubs do not judge transfers on the headline fee alone. Every major sale is filtered through an accounting process that determines how much capacity it actually creates to reinvest. Book value, amortisation and accounting profit matter just as much as the fee itself.

Using this hypothetical offer as a case study, this article examines how Everton would assess it behind the scenes and why recruitment departments often reach very different conclusions from supporters.

Why the Headline Fee Doesn't Tell the Whole Story

When a major transfer is reported, the headline fee inevitably becomes the focus. A major sale is often interpreted as the full transfer fee being immediately available for new signings.

For recruitment departments, however, the transfer fee is only the starting point. Before a decision can be made, clubs must establish a player's remaining book value, calculate the accounting profit and assess what the sale would create under the Premier League's Squad Cost Rules.

Establishing Book Value

Before evaluating a potential sale, Everton would first establish Iliman Ndiaye's current book value.

Unlike a physical asset, a player's transfer fee is not recorded as a one-off expense. Instead, it is spread evenly across the length of the player's contract through a process known as amortisation.

For the purposes of this example, Ndiaye joined Everton for £15 million on a five-year contract. The transfer fee is therefore recognised as an accounting cost of £3 million per season.

After two completed seasons, £6 million of that fee has already been recognised, leaving a remaining book value of £9 million.

That figure forms the starting point for calculating the accounting profit on the transfer.

Calculating the Accounting Profit

Once Ndiaye's book value has been established, Everton can calculate the accounting profit on the sale.

Using this example, a £70 million transfer fee is offset against his remaining £9 million book value. The difference, £61 million, is recognised as the accounting profit on the transaction.

Although the headline fee remains £70 million, it is the accounting profit that carries greater significance. Under the Premier League's Squad Cost Rules, the full £61 million accounting profit is recognised immediately in the season of the sale, increasing Everton's adjusted revenue base for that reporting period.

Accounting Profit Under the Squad Cost Rules

Generating an accounting profit does not automatically translate into an equivalent increase in transfer spending.

Instead, the Premier League's Squad Cost Rules determine how much of that additional revenue can support future squad costs. Because the full £61 million accounting profit is recognised immediately, it increases Everton's adjusted revenue base in the season of the sale.

However, clubs are not free to spend every additional pound without limit. The Squad Cost Rules restrict total squad costs relative to adjusted football revenue, meaning the additional financial flexibility created by a profitable sale must still remain within the league's permitted spending threshold.

From Everton's perspective, the transaction is no longer simply about receiving a one-off transfer fee. It represents an increase in sustainable spending capacity, creating additional room to strengthen the squad while remaining within the Premier League's financial framework.

Translating the Profit into Spending Capacity

For clubs outside UEFA competition, the Premier League's Squad Cost Rules limit squad costs to 85% of adjusted football revenue. That means an increase in available resources does not translate pound-for-pound into additional squad spending.

Applying this 85% threshold to Ndiaye's immediate £61 million accounting profit, the transaction instantly creates approximately £51.85 million of additional squad spending capacity for Everton within that single season.

The club can then allocate this £51.85 million of newly unlocked headroom towards future squad costs, including player amortisation, player and managerial wages, agent fees and other eligible football expenses, while remaining within the Premier League's spending limits.

This distinction matters. The value of a sale cannot be measured by the headline fee alone. Instead, it creates additional spending capacity, allowing the club to invest sustainably while remaining compliant with the Premier League's financial regulations.

In modern football, that additional spending capacity is often more valuable than the headline transfer fee itself.

Evaluating a major transfer is no longer a simple question of how much money changes hands.

As this example demonstrates, clubs must balance accounting, regulation and recruitment before they can make informed decisions in the transfer market.

To do that, they must establish a player's remaining book value, calculate the resulting accounting profit and determine how that profit affects spending capacity under the Squad Cost Rules. Only then can recruitment departments understand the financial flexibility a transaction genuinely creates.

Whether Everton should ever accept such an offer is an entirely separate discussion. The purpose of this article is not to argue for a sale, but to illustrate how modern football clubs evaluate major transfer decisions through both a sporting and financial lens.

The more interesting question is what comes next: if a sale created additional spending capacity, how should Everton reinvest it to build a stronger squad?