For a few days in July, Iliman Ndiaye looked like he could become the next major Premier League name heading to Saudi Arabia.
Al-Hilal had already signed Crysencio Summerville from West Ham and were still looking for another attacker. Ndiaye, coming off a strong spell with Everton and already attracting attention from major English clubs, quickly moved towards the top of their shortlist.
The interest was genuine.
The transfer was not.
By the end of the summer window, Ndiaye had stayed in the Premier League and taken a very different step: a five-year move from Everton to Manchester City.
Al-Hilal confirmed Summerville’s arrival from West Ham on 24 July 2026, giving the Dutch winger a four-year contract.
That signing did not end the Saudi club’s search for attacking reinforcements.
Within days, reports emerged that Al-Hilal had opened talks over Ndiaye, with the Senegal international viewed as another player capable of operating across the front line.
The logic was clear.
Ndiaye offered Premier League experience, close control in crowded areas, the ability to carry the ball and enough positional flexibility to play wide or through the middle.
At 26, he also fitted a different recruitment profile from the veteran superstar signings that defined the first phase of Saudi football’s spending boom.
Ndiaye had rebuilt his reputation strongly at Everton after joining from Marseille in 2024.
His ability to receive under pressure, dribble past defenders and connect midfield with attack made him more than a conventional winger.
He can operate from either flank or move centrally, giving coaches different ways to use him depending on the opponent.
Those qualities helped explain why Al-Hilal saw him as a strong fit alongside their other attacking options.
He was not simply another goalscorer.
He could change how the team progressed the ball and attacked crowded defensive lines.
This is where the transfer story became messy.
Some reports claimed Everton had already agreed to sell Ndiaye to Al-Hilal.
Those claims moved faster than the negotiations themselves.
One widely circulated report suggesting a €75 million agreement was later corrected after the supposed source was traced to a fake social-media account impersonating a well-known journalist.
No final agreement existed at that stage.
Al-Hilal’s interest and negotiations were real, but reports that the transfer had already been completed were premature.
A few days later, another important signal arrived.
Ndiaye’s father publicly rejected claims that his son had agreed to join Al-Hilal and indicated that the player wanted to continue his career in Europe.
That did not mean Saudi interest had never existed.
It meant an approach and a completed agreement were two very different things.
By the end of July, it had become increasingly clear that convincing Everton was only part of the challenge.
The player also had to prefer the Saudi option over opportunities that could remain available in Europe.
Everton had little reason to accept a discounted deal.
Ndiaye still had several years left on his contract, had established himself as an important attacking player and was attracting interest from clubs beyond Saudi Arabia.
That gave Everton leverage.
Al-Hilal were financially capable of pursuing an expensive deal, but Everton did not need to sell immediately.
The longer the window stayed open, the more likely it became that another Premier League club could enter the picture.
That is exactly what happened.
On 1 September 2026, Manchester City completed the signing of Ndiaye from Everton on a five-year contract.
The transfer was reported at around £65 million.
City also handed him the No. 7 shirt, underlining the importance they expect him to have in the squad.
The final destination therefore looked completely different from the July speculation.
Instead of leaving the Premier League, Ndiaye moved from Everton to one of its biggest clubs.
For a 26-year-old entering what should be his peak seasons, Manchester City offered a different sporting path.
He could remain in the Premier League, play Champions League football and compete inside a squad built to challenge for major trophies.
That does not mean the Al-Hilal proposal lacked appeal.
Saudi clubs can offer major salaries, ambitious projects and increasingly strong squads.
But a player can still decide that remaining at the highest level of European club football fits his priorities better at a particular stage of his career.
For Ndiaye, that is the path that won.
The two players became linked in the same Al-Hilal recruitment story but finished the summer in different places.
Summerville completed his transfer and joined Al-Hilal.
Ndiaye did not.
He remained in England until deadline day and then moved to Manchester City.
That contrast is useful when assessing transfer rumours.
One signing does not automatically mean the next target will follow the same route.
There is also a wider trend behind the story.
Saudi clubs are no longer looking only at globally famous players approaching the later stages of their careers.
Summerville was 24 when Al-Hilal signed him.
Ndiaye was 26 when they pursued him.
Both represented players with significant years of top-level football still ahead of them.
That same shift helps explain why Saudi transfer stories now regularly involve players who also have serious options in Europe’s strongest leagues.
The same summer offered several reminders of that.
Saudi clubs had been associated with Mohamed Salah for years, yet his post-Liverpool career ultimately took him to Turkey rather than the Saudi Pro League.
Our article on Mohamed Salah’s move to Trabzonspor follows another transfer where sustained Gulf interest did not determine the final destination.
Ndiaye’s case followed a similar principle, even if the details were different.
Interest can be genuine without the transfer becoming inevitable.
The timeline is now straightforward.
Al-Hilal signed Summerville and then opened talks over Ndiaye.
The Senegal international became a serious target, but no final agreement was reached.
Claims that the deal had already been completed proved premature, his family publicly signalled that he wanted to remain in Europe, and the Saudi move eventually disappeared.
Then Manchester City moved.
By deadline day, Ndiaye had left Everton — but not for Riyadh.
He joined Manchester City instead, signing a five-year contract and taking the No. 7 shirt.
That is the part of the story that July’s transfer rumours could not yet see.
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