Manchester City Hijacks Spurs for Ndiaye in £65m Deadline Deal

Manchester City tore up the final day script. While Tottenham thought they were closing in on Iliman Ndiaye, the champions stepped in, moved fast and walked away with the Everton forward in a £65m deal.

City agreed an initial £60m fee with a further £5m in add-ons, according to The Athletic, muscling past Spurs at the last moment and adding yet another weapon to an already loaded attack.

For Tottenham, Ndiaye was already Plan B. They had turned to the Senegal international after failing to prise Cody Gakpo from Liverpool, a pursuit that had also drawn City’s attention. Once the Gakpo route shut down, the race for Ndiaye looked like a straight sprint between north London and the Etihad.

It wasn’t close.

‘There was nothing else that I wanted’

Speaking after sealing the move, the 26-year-old made it clear why City won the race. The choice, he said, barely felt like a choice at all.

“It’s easy to make the decision about whether you want to be at Manchester City or not,” Ndiaye said. “You can see the recent history; you want to be part of that project.”

Conversations with the club hierarchy finished the job. “They talked to me about where we could go, what we could achieve with me in the team, and I was interested from the beginning,” he explained. “There was nothing else that I wanted other than joining Manchester City.”

Ndiaye spoke like a player who has spent years chasing this exact moment. “Obviously, you want to be part of this new project. I’ve seen recently what they’ve been doing, and I feel like I will fit right in it,” he said. “I’m super excited to start. It’s an unbelievable moment. I’ve worked so hard to get to this point and I’m super excited and really grateful for this opportunity.”

City, already stacked with attacking talent, have added another direct, dynamic option. The message to the rest of the league is familiar: they’re not standing still.

A record-equalling statement

Ndiaye’s arrival was only half the story of City’s wild finish to the window.

The club also completed the £125m signing of Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, a deal that equals the British transfer record and underlines the scale of their ambition. The move reunites the Argentine with Enzo Maresca, who knows exactly what he is getting and how to plug him into City’s intricate system.

Two marquee arrivals. One record-equalling fee. One rival’s top target snatched away on deadline day. City didn’t just strengthen; they shifted the landscape.

Spurs scramble, turn to Mudryk

While City celebrated, Spurs were left to pick through the wreckage of a window that had promised more. Missing out on both Gakpo and Ndiaye forced an immediate rethink.

The response was swift. Tottenham went back to Chelsea and pushed through a late loan deal for Mykhailo Mudryk, reuniting the winger with Roberto De Zerbi, under whom he flourished at Shakhtar Donetsk.

Mudryk brings pace and chaos, the kind of wide threat Ange Postecoglou’s side still need. Yet the contrast was stark: City closed the window by landing two headline deals; Spurs ended it with another short-term fix.

The season will reveal whether this was the night City pulled further away, or the moment Tottenham’s near-misses came back to haunt them.