Everton Have Big Iliman Ndiaye Decision to Make

Everton have a big decision to make when it comes to Iliman Ndiaye during the summer transfer window. 

Reports have emerged that Ndiaye has rejected multiple contract offers from the club, while interest is growing in the attacker. Manchester United are one of the sides to have been linked with a move to secure his signature, and it remains to be seen whether Everton can keep hold of him. 

The Toffees are reportedly in talks to tie him down to a new deal, but with Ndiaye rejecting multiple offers, his future at the Hill Dickinson Stadium remains uncertain. 

Everton hold a lot of the cards in negotiations, with his contract having three years remaining, but they have a decision to make. 

Keeping a player of Ndiaye's talent at the club is always going to be tricky. Interest is going to increase in line with his performance levels, and he's going to want to be playing European football. 

Everton need to match his ambitions if they want to keep him at the club. Flirting with the European places and not achieving qualification is clearly not enough for Ndiaye, which is no surprise. 

On the other hand, Ndiaye needs to up his performance levels in order to help Everton achieve their goals. 

In the second half of last season, Ndiaye struggled, and had he replicated the performances levels of the first half of the campaign, Everton may well have achieved European qualification. 

Anyone who watches football can see Ndiaye is a talented player, but to get the best out of him, Everton need to invest. Ndiaye can make things happen out of nothing, but he's often left isolated in attacking positions, with the opposition able to double and triple up on him. 

To get the best out of Ndiaye, Everton need to develop a style of play that gets more players in and around him, full-backs dragging away markers through attacking runs, and be more dominant in terms of sustained attacking threat. 

I have no doubt that the Senegalese international can become an elite-level player with the right tools around him. There's certainly signs of that being possible, but it's difficult for a player of his profile in such as defensive setup with limited attacking threat.

Another option is cashing in on Ndiaye in the summer transfer window. Every player has a price, and Everton will likely have a number that a club would need to hit in order for an exit to occur. 

The Toffees signed Ndiaye for a fee in the region of £15m, so even just £45m would be triple that. 

In terms of what Ndiaye produces when it comes to goal contributions, Everton could certainly replace him adequately if they receive, for example, £60m. Ndiaye has struggled to hit huge numbers in terms of goal contributions at Everton, and he's more of a luxury player who is fantastic to watch. 

Cashing in for around £60m would allow Everton to invest in two or three players, and perhaps a winger who is going to contribute more in the final third. 

It's a balancing act. If Everton are going to progress under a new manager with new signings, keeping Ndiaye would be smart. If David Moyes is here for the forseeable, a sale of Ndiaye must be tempting. 

To put it bluntly, Moyes isn't getting the best out of Ndiaye at the moment. Could he do more? Absolutely, but the performances he's producing for Everton aren't that of a £60m+ player.

There are moments when I watch Ndiaye and believe that we shouldn't sell him for any less than £80m, but there are also plenty of times when I think he's struggling to make an impact.

No player is untouchable at Everton, especially after watching how our season ended. Everton player has a price, and so will Ndiaye. 

Ndiaye is an absolutely phenomenal player to watch on his day, and it pains me to even consider the thought of selling him. But the Toffees have to consider whether selling him would benefit the club and the team in the long run.

If Everton receive a fee in the region of £70m, for me, it would be hard to say no at this point.

I understand those who might respond to this and suggest that Everton shouldn't be selling their best players, but sometimes you have to take a step back to take a couple forward.

Everton spent fairly big last summer without making any huge sales. Eventually, something has to give, and there aren't many fringe players with a high value at the moment. 

Sales need to be made at some point, that's the nature of modern football. Everton shouldn't be letting Ndiaye go on the cheap, but if he's unwilling to sign a new deal and a huge offer arrives, it might not be the end of the world if we decide to cash in.