When Everton signed Iliman Ndiaye from Marseille in the summer of 2024, expectations were not terribly high for the winger.
He was still young, having just turned 24, but his previous run in the Premier League with Sheffield United (a single, 12-minute cameo in the 2020/21 season) had not amounted to anything. He was dominant in the Championship with the Blades, racking up 27 goal contributions across all competitions in 2022/23, which earned him the move to his boyhood club in France.
But that move wasn't very successful, as he played in 44 matches (27 starts), but managed only seven goal contributions in those games, an underwhelming total from a squad that was reliant upon Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score goals, despite having Ndiaye and fellow Senegal star Ismaila Sarr in the mix.
All of this led to a muted response around Everton's £16.9 million fee for Ndiaye, although his youth allowed pundits to see a player who could make a difference if things broke right for him.
Whether or not that's what happened or if Everton were just the right fit for the player, the Senegal winger has been sensational for the Toffees since joining, playing 50 matches (44 starts) across all competitions while scoring 15 goals, including 11 last year, which led the team.
It was never a question of skill with Ndiaye, as his silky smooth dribbling was always one of the attributes that stood out even as a youngster. But the ability to score at the highest level was a bit of a question mark, especially after the tough go of things in France, and he's done nothing but prove doubters wrong on that front since coming to Merseyside.
Look no further than his wonderstrike against Sunderland to get a sense of how he's managed to put those skills together. The individual effort required to even get into space to take a shot was spectacular. The balance, the control, the vision are all world class.
But the shot, on his weaker left food, mind you, was the perfect capper to the move. It was perfectly slotted, giving Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs no chance to make the save.
And that's the type of brilliance that Everton supporters have come to expect from Ndiaye, even as the presence of Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall have forced the Senegal international away from his more natural positions.
It's no wonder the rumors are starting to fly around about teams coming from him in January, both domestically and around the world.
To be clear: Everton shouldn't even begin to entertain these offers, given the player's age (he just turned 25 in March) and the amount of club control they still hold. The Toffees are building a young core with Ndiaye, Thierno Barry, Tyler Dibling, Jarrad Branthwaite, and others, and they should fight to keep them.
But all of this should indicate one thing. Not enough people are talking about Iliman Ndiaye as one of the best players in the world.
They absolutely should be.