Everton may have been held to a draw against West Ham United on Monday, but Tony Bellew believes they have one of the Premier League’s most underrated players.
David Moyes has been handed a number of new signings over the summer to bolster his squad for the 2025/26 campaign.
The early signs have been positive, with Jack Grealish winning Player of the Month for August in his opening month at the club.
However, there are still a number of Everton players who Moyes inherited from Sean Dyche that remain intrinsic to the starting XI.
On Monday evening, Michael Keane blew Duncan Ferguson away with his headed goal against the Hammers.
But it was another Everton star who has really impressed the former boxer, Bellew, after he spoke following the game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Tony Bellew says Everton have Premier League’s most underrated player
It was a frustrating 90 minutes, but Bellew slammed any suggestion that Moyes should be sacked amid Everton’s struggles in front of goal.
Everton have a number of players with undeniable quality, but the lack of goals coming from the two strikers is proving a real concern.
Speaking to TalkSPORT after the game, Bellew waxed lyrical about Iliman Ndiaye for what he has become on Merseyside.
“Iliman Ndiaye is one of the most important players. I actually think he’s the most underrated player in the Premier League,” said Bellew.
“Iliman Ndiaye, he’s the only player I ever see who’s got such a willingness to get forward, but the greatest thing about him is he’s got such an eagerness to defend as well.
“He wants to work as hard going backwards as he does going forward to create. That is very hard to find in a Premier League footballer.”
Gary Lineker has also been wowed by Ndiaye, with the Senegal international perhaps going under the radar following the arrival of Grealish.
Last weekend, Ndiaye stunned Moyes with his assist against Liverpool, which was actually his first for the club.
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Iliman Ndiaye’s role has changed since Jack Grealish joined Everton
Last season, Ndiaye was playing his football from the left wing, where he was able to return nine goals for the Blues.
Now, since the arrival of Grealish, Ndiaye has now played the majority of his minutes from the other side of the pitch.
| Iliman Ndiaye (appearances) | 2024/25 | 2025/26 |
| Left-wing | 1 | 5 |
| Right-wing | 32 | 1 |
Everton News columnist Alan Myers has suggested Ndiaye could even play up front if Everton become that worried about Beto and Thierno Barry.
The only issue with Ndiaye is that he is now set to miss a chunk of games for the Africa Cup of Nations in the winter.
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