Will the real Iliman Ndiaye please stand up!

Whether it’s because he’s fatigued, or just because he is going through a dip, or simply because Everton are so reliant on him to do it all, Iliman Ndiaye is not living up to the exceptionally high standards he has set.

Now, don’t get me wrong, this is certainly not a hit piece. Ndiaye has been a superb signing for Everton. He is capable of the spectacular and, in this writer’s opinion, the club should be tying him down to a new contract.

A silky dribbler, a fantastic ball-carrier and a usually excellent finisher, Ndiaye is perhaps lacking the passing skills or creative ability of Jack Grealish, but he more than makes up for it in other areas.

But, it’s fair to say, in recent weeks, when Everton have really needed him to step up to the plate, Ndiaye has faltered.

As laid out in the introduction, there’s caveats here. This isn’t just a case of a good player suddenly turning bad, but we can still see that he is in a bit of a dip.

He is definitely not the only one.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall — far and away Everton’s signing of the season — has also struggled to hit his best form in recent weeks.

David Moyes’s squad management throughout the season has been questioned, and it does look as though the minutes both Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye have been clocking up are beginning to tell.

Dewsbury-Hall is asked to do a bit of everything in midfield, as well as get in behind the opposition defence, too. Ndiaye, meanwhile, is tasked with providing the flair — that little bit of jazz added into an otherwise largely workman-like side.

But with Grealish out, and Moyes going with Harrison Armstrong, Dwight McNeil and now Merlin Röhl out on the right flank, it really is all on Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall to provide the onus and spark to Everton’s attack.

Moyes has other options, and hopefully, starting on Sunday against Sunderland, we get to see a bit more of someone like Tyrique George, who should really be handed a start for a must-win match. I’ve given up hope of seeing Tyler Dibling be able to make a meaningful contribution for the rest of this season.

Carlos Alcaraz is another alternative, and even though the Argentine’s erratic nature can be his downfall, it’s fair to say we have not seen enough of him when he has been fit this term.

The issue Moyes can’t seem to get over is that he sees Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye as, essentially, being so far clear of all his other options that he feels he has no choice but to leave them on the pitch as long as possible.

Even though Ndiaye has missed four outstanding chances across the last two games and looked dead on his feet against West Ham and Crystal Palace, and even though Dewsbury-Hall turned in one of his poorer displays of the campaign down at Selhurst Park, both of them continue to be played right until the bitter end.

If Moyes is to stay on for next season, and there’s no real reason at this stage to believe he will not, then this is a problem that must be addressed.

Sure, Everton could do with more options, or perhaps more specifically, better alternatives. But Moyes also must be willing to use them; he cannot keep asking players to go to the well and back when there is nothing more to give.

That, though, is for the future.

Right now, Everton need Ndiaye and Dewsbury-Hall to step up.

Ndiaye, in particular, has the keys to unlock defences from nothing when he’s on it. It was in the reverse fixture against Sunderland that he scored what should be a goal of the season contender, as he skipped in from the right flank, took on a group of defenders and curled a sumptuous finish into the left-hand corner.

There is too much talk in the fanbase about what Ndiaye’s best position is when really he floats in and out of matches, operating from both flanks. He is a moments player, and those moments can be extraordinary, but right now, Everton need them to be coming along more often than they are.

For too long against Palace, Ndiaye was out of the picture. He started brilliantly, displaying all his skills with some mazy runs, and teeing up a fantastic chance for Dewsbury-Hall in the 17th minute. But from then on, he was hardly involved until around midway through the second half, before he then spurned a glorious chance late on.

Even if he is feeling the effects of a long season, in which he also went all the way at the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal, Everton need more from their attacking talisman.

The European dream is not yet dead, but more just for his sake, and the team’s, we need the real Ndiaye to step up and cap off what has been a promising, if at times frustrating, campaign.

Another moment of genius could yet make all the difference.

 

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