Jake O’Brien names £17m ‘magician’ as the hardest Everton player to face in training 

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Everton, despite their financial restrictions, have worked admirably to forge a well-rounded squad that has more than enough to compete.

And whilst their idea of competing is simply staying in the division for now, the foundation is certainly in place for longer-term success, should Dan Friedkin enact an intelligent strategy upon assuming control at Goodison Park.

With a solid backline, as proven last season, and an attack that creates but lacks cutting edge, it’s clear where the main deficiencies lie within Kevin Thelwell’s squad.

However, aside from a few key blunders, most would laud the work this director of football has done since joining in 2022.

Jake O’Brien names the toughest Everton teammate to face

It’s one of his latest additions that is earning the most rave reviews though, with Jake O’Brien, another of Everton’s summer signings, the latest to laud him.

After all, opposition and teammates alike are well aware of the magical qualities that the £17m Iliman Ndiaye possesses.

Skilful on the ball but relentlessly hard-working too, it’s almost as if his skillset was moulded specifically for Goodison Park’s enjoyment.

And now, when asked who the hardest Everton teammate to face in training is, O’Brien had little hesitation: ‘The hardest player to play against in training? Iliman [Ndiaye].’

Iliman Ndiaye already loved by Everton fans

Although he has only been playing at the club for a few months now, it’s remarkable how revered Ndiaye is already.

However, with a magical play style that was always bound to capture the imagination, coming into a side severely lacking any skill and ingenuity, this was always bound to happen.

Coming off the back of a tough campaign at Marseille, a club renowned for its unsettled nature, few truly thought that his career would be over despite scoring just three times in Ligue 1 all season.

Especially given how revered he was at Sheffield United, with former teammate Anel Ahmedhodžić once branding him a ‘magician‘.

Already it has become clear that Ndiaye’s performances are about so much more than just goals and assists, with work rate and magical moments instead convincing Everton manager Sean Dyche to continue playing him.

This praise from O’Brien is just the latest in a long line of adulation thrown at the Senegal international, with one Everton coach praising Ndiaye’s performances in training, but not before Phil Jagielka compared Ndiaye to Steven Pienaar.

Should he maintain this form, and inject a few more goals and assists into his game, this could prove to be one of Everton’s best signings in recent memory.