Sheffield United netted £20m windfall from low-key transfer gamble - He’s now ripping up the Premier League | OneFootball

Sheffield United signed Iliman Ndiaye in 2019 and gave him his first taste of professional football

Iliman Ndiaye's journey to the Premier League is as unique as it is remarkable. From playing in the non-leagues of France and England to representing Senegal at the World Cup, Ndiaye's journey to the pinnacle of football is like no other, and without Sheffield United providing him a platform, he may never have got there.

Born in France with Senegalese descent on his father's side, Ndiaye began playing football at an early age and was recruited by his local side, Rouen Sapins, just north of the French capital of Paris, but would also spend time in the youth system of Marseille between 2011 and 2012.

He moved to Senegal with his family in 2014, and subsequently joined Dakar Sacré-Cœur, a top division side based in the capital of the West African country, before moving to England with his father two years later, joining the academy of Boreham Wood.

Whilst with Boreham Wood, Ndiaye would also represent a semi-professional side called Rising Ballers, based in Kensington, which was set up by three men in their early twenties, Brendon Shabani, Jamie Politt and Eni Shabani, with the mission of helping young talent find their way into professional football.

Mahrez Bettache, the club's head coach, when asked about signing Ndiaye, said, "He was the talk of the town.

"He wasn’t sure the club was for him. But then I remember the first time I met him I had a conversation with him. I spoke to him about what my vision was and what I wanted from him.

"I told him I wanted him to be our star man, who we really focused on. Not just on the pitch but off it too in terms of the media side of things. In the end, he came on board."

Ndiaye's performances for both Boreham Wood and Rising Ballers didn't go unnoticed.

In August 2019, he had garnered the attention of Championship outfit Sheffield United, who took a punt on Ndiaye and handed him a three-year deal. Since then, he has never looked back.

Sheffield United took a punt on Iliman Ndiaye in 2019, whilst he was playing for Boreham Wood in non-league

Upon his arrival at Bramall Lane, Ndiaye did not go straight into first-team action; instead, he spent the first half of the 2019/20 season in the club's reserves before spending the second half of the campaign on loan with Hyde United in the lower leagues, where he scored once in six appearances.

The Senegalese international made his Premier League debut for the Blades as a late substitute in Sheffield United's 5-0 defeat to Leicester City in March 2021, playing 11 minutes, having been involved in the matchday squad for the previous three games.

Following Sheffield United's relegation at the end of that season, an opportunity in the first team presented itself for Ndiaye, who, having missed the opening five league fixtures, was introduced directly into the starting lineup against Peterborough United, where he would score twice and grab an assist on his full debut.

He'd become a regular in the side thereafter, and although the goal contributions dried up for much of that season, a late flurry of four goals in the final five games of the Championship season meant he finished the campaign with seven goals and two assists in his full debut season.

The following season would be even better for Ndiaye, who quickly became the Blades' main man under manager Paul Heckingbottom.

The French-born attacking-midfielder played in all 46 league games for Sheffield United that season as they finished in second position, returning to the top flight, with Ndiaye finishing as the club's top goalscorer with 14 goals, and added a further 11 assists in the process.

At this point, Ndiaye had, in four years, gone from casually playing for Boreham Wood and Rising Ballers in non-league to becoming the main man for a side achieving promotion to the Premier League, but his journey is far from over - it was done at Bramall Lane though.

Reluctantly, Sheffield United accepted a £20 million offer from French side Marseille for Ndiaye, where the Senegalese international had spent time as a youth player a decade prior.

Following his departure, then-Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom said, "It's his boyhood club, his dream club.

"That's the battle we were up against. That's the problem. Iliman turned down vast amounts of money last January to stay with us and help us get promoted so it's not about the money.

"It's pointless trying to replace Iliman, so the thing what we have to do is replace him with players who do other things better than him".

Indeed, replacing Ndiaye proved to be a near-impossible task for Sheffield United, who finished rock-bottom of the Premier League the season following his departure, whilst Ndiaye's return to his boyhood club wasn't the dream one he would have been hoping for.

Although he netted three times and grabbed five assists in 30 Ligue 1 games, Ndiaye started only 19 of those, and after one year back in France, he'd head to England again, this time to Everton for rooughly £15 million.

In his first season at The Toffees, Ndiaye scored nine times, including the two final goals at Goodison Park before they left their home at the end of the season. Coincidentally, Ndiaye would net the first goal at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for Everton, and has solidified himself as one of the most exciting forward players in the division.