Everton have been left sweating over the future of star man Iliman Ndiaye amid this summer’s transfer market.
The Senegal international finally got off the mark in the tournament on Friday, with a goal and an assist in their final group stage game.
However, whilst away with Senegal, Ndiaye has failed to quash Everton exit speculation as his contract saga rumbles on.
Where has this version of Iliman Ndiaye been hiding for the last three months? 🤩
Welcome back, Ili!
Amid the speculation, Everton have been linked with Jamie Leweling of VfB Stuttgart and the Germany national side.
The 25-year-old has also failed to silence rumours over his future as he could mark a real statement addition for Everton.
What Jamie Leweling has said about his future amid Everton interest
Leweling has only played 30 minutes at the World Cup after coming on as a substitute during the victory over the Ivory Coast.
However, Leweling enjoyed a stunning season with Stuttgart, which has seen his future thrown up in the air.
“You should never rule things out, especially in football,” Leweling said during a press conference at the World Cup.
How likely do you think it is that Everton could lose Iliman Ndiaye this summer? 😬
Surely a player of his quality will want to showcase himself on the top stage 🤩
“But I feel comfortable in Stuttgart, we’re playing in the Champions League. And I have a good standing.”
“I don’t want to say that I’ll stay 100 percent, but I also don’t want to say that I’ll leave 100 percent. I can say that I feel comfortable, my focus is currently on the World Cup and after that we’ll see. But that’s still a long way off.”
Leweling would even be an upgrade on Iliman Ndiaye
Although Everton remain in a strong position when it comes to Ndiaye, there will naturally be some concerns over losing the star man on Merseyside.
Ndiaye has failed to agree to a new Everton contract as his agents push for a below-market-value release clause to be included.
In the worst case scenario that Everton do end up selling Ndiaye, The Friedkin Group would bring in considerable funds to reinvest given he still has three years remaining on his current deal.
Leweling is a player who could certainly provide a strong opportunity to replace the Senegal international if it came to that.
Ideally, this is the type of signing Everton should be targeting as an addition to Ndiaye on the other side of the attack.
| 2025/26 (All competitions) | Jamie Leweling | Iliman Ndiaye |
| Appearances | 50 | 34 |
| Goals | 11 | 6 |
| Assists | 12 | 3 |
Looking into how the two wingers compared over their 2025/26 league campaigns, it is clear to see just how impressive of a signing Leweling would be for the Toffees.
In virtually every attacking metric, the German outperformed Ndiaye during his Bundesliga campaign.
Ndiaye narrowly edged the number of progressive carries, but Leweling dominated in every other aspect of his game.
Having scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists in all competitions, it is clear to see the attacking threat the 25-year-old could provide when you also look at how Leweling also completed more than three times the number of crosses as Ndiaye.
The issue is this level of output will come at a cost, which would likely not be possible as Everton target another deal for Jack Grealish.
Landing Leweling over Grealish would not even just be a long-term gain as the winger is already showing significantly more productivity in the final third than Everton’s current best winger.
After such an underwhelming end to the season, this is the type of signing that could suddenly get Everton supporters back on side ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
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