Tottenham Hotspur’s worst nightmare may be about to come true amid the latest updates on the race for Iliman Ndiaye.
Tottenham agreed a deal worth £60m with Everton for Ndiaye over the weekend, but the transfer has seemingly been held up by something out of their control.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Richarlison has to greenlight a return to the Toffees for Spurs’ signing of the 27-year-old winger to go through, and it does not appear that green light has come from the Brazilian yet.
In fact, according to various sources, the Toffees have launched an offer for Monaco’s Folarin Balogun, which may potentially hint that the Richarlison-Ndiaye double deal may have hit a snag.
Arsenal attempting to hijack Tottenham’s move for Iliman Ndiaye
Multiple sources are now reporting that Arsenal are preparing to enter the race for Ndiaye in a late attempt to hijack their North London rivals’ move for the winger.
This includes journalist Khadim Diakhate, who has said that the Gunners are preparing a big offer to lure the Senegalese star to the Emirates.
Diakhate wrote on X: “Iliman Ndiaye: Arsenal is preparing a big move against Tottenham! As reported by Taggat. Iliman Ndiaye has a verbal agreement with Tottenham. But Arsenal is working behind the scenes and could try to lure the Senegalese away from the Spurs. Everything could be decided tomorrow!”
This has also been backed up by Lassana Camara, who says that although Spurs have a head start in the race for Ndiaye, the deal is not done and that Mikel Arteta’s side are now looking to beat their fierce rivals to the winger.
Camara wrote on X: Iliman Ndiaye: Arsenal is preparing a big move at the last turn against Tottenham! Iliman Ndiaye has a preliminary agreement with Tottenham. But in the transfer market, nothing is ever definitively secured until the signature is in place. While the Spurs think they’ve gained a head start, Arsenal is working in the shadows and could try to lure the Senegalese away from Tottenham.”
Spurs have identified four alternatives to Ndiaye
It appears that the Lilywhites are alive to the possibility of missing out on the Everton winger, and are not putting all their eggs in one basket.
According to a recent update from TEAMtalk, Tottenham are keeping a close eye on the situation of AC Milan star Christian Pulisic as we approach the final 24 hours of the transfer window.
The same report claimed that the Lilywhites have also made enquiries for Lyon’s Malick Fofana, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Jean-Matteo Bahoya and Lille’s Matheus Fernandez-Pardo.