How Iliman Ndiaye felt about joining Chelsea before Man City agreement

Journalist Simon Phillips has claimed on Si Phillips Talks Chelsea that the player was keen on a move to Stamford Bridge. However, Ndiaye is now set to play at the Etihad instead.

DEADLINE DAY: Who do you want Chelsea to sign before the 11pm deadline?

Chelsea are in the market for a midfielder…

Chelsea would have had to offload a winger or two to facilitate the arrival of Ndiaye. They are currently stacked in the attacking positions, possessing the likes of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Estevao Willian, Jamie Gittens and Geovany Quenda.

Pedro Neto is also an attacker, but Xabi Alonso has been using him as a wing-back and to devastating effect.

He scored in Chelsea’s 4-3 win against Brighton & Hove Albion over the weekend and also could have had an assist after Joao Pedro missed a big chance in the first half.

Pedro was eventually able to get his name on the scoresheet, netting just after the half-hour mark to put Chelsea 3-0 up on the afternoon.

Chelsea’s attack has been on fire so far this season, so there was no guarantee that Ndiaye would have broken into the team.

Last term, Ndiaye scored six goals and provided three assists in 32 Premier League appearances. Based on those stats, it is hard to argue that the Senegal international is a better attacker than Rogers, for example.

Still, most Chelsea fans would have taken him, especially if he were coming in to replace Neto. While his numbers could improve, Ndiaye is one of the most exciting wingers in the Premier League and probably would have been an upgrade on Neto.