Everton Eye 11-Goal Spurs Striker In Sensational Swap Deal: The Right Deal For The Toffees?

Everton are closing in on one of the more unusual pieces of transfer business this summer. According to a report relayed by David Ornstein of The Athletic, an agreement in principle has been reached for Iliman Ndiaye to leave Everton and join Tottenham Hotspur, with Richarlison moving in the opposite direction as a separate but clearly connected deal.

Everton F.C. and Tottenham Hotspur: The swap that nobody saw coming

The 26-year-old Senegalese attacker heads to north London, while the 29-year-old Brazilian forward returns to Merseyside, where he built his reputation before a £60 million switch to Spurs back in 2022. Both transfers remain subject to personal terms and medical examinations. Nothing is signed, nothing is sealed, but the bones of the agreement are reportedly in place. Ornstein is not a journalist who gets these things wrong.

Everton’s perspective: A gamble that actually makes sense

David Moyes gets his striker. That is the headline here, stripped of all the noise.

Ndiaye was productive enough across the 2025/26 Premier League season with 6 goals and 3 assists across 32 appearances, but his 2,791 minutes of action to produce those numbers tell a different story from Richarlison’s 11 goals and 4 assists in the same competition, achieved in just 1,975 minutes at Spurs. The Brazilian is simply more dangerous per minute in front of goal, and for a Moyes side that has always demanded a physical, relentless focal point up top, that difference in output is significant.

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 15: Richarlison of Tottenham Hotspur during the during the pre-season friendly match between Tottenham Hotspur and TSG Hoffenheim at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 15, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Richarlison also scored 3 headed goals in the league last season. Three. That aerial presence suits the Moyes system down to the ground, and a man who made 135 league appearances for Everton before his departure doesn’t need a settling-in period. He knows Goodison. He knows the weight of expectation.

Ndiaye had attracted serious interest from Manchester City and Arsenal this summer, so Everton capitalising on his market value to bring back a striker who scored 43 league goals in his first spell is not a soft business decision. It’s calculated. Moyes needed goals. This addresses that.

The risk? Real and worth acknowledging. Everton are trading a 26-year-old winger in the prime of his career for a 29-year-old with a patchy injury record at Tottenham. If Richarlison’s body lets him down again, the Toffees will have moved on a genuinely re-sellable asset for an expensive contract that ages badly.

His work rate off the ball, 39 clearances last season, fits the defensive pressing demands Moyes places on his attackers, but fitness and sustainability over a full campaign remain the question marks hanging over this deal.

Still, the emotional lift of bringing Richarlison back to Goodison Park is not trivial. Moyes needs results, fast. A player the fans already love, arriving with 11 Premier League goals from last season, is exactly the kind of statement Everton needed to make.