Everton have been linked with swapping Ashley Williams for Badou Ndiaye.
Everton tied up their second summer signing earlier this week as French left back Lucas Digne arrived from Barcelona – but the Toffees aren’t done just yet.
With Brazilian winger Richarlison snapped up from Watford last month, Everton have been a little late to get going in the transfer market, but with two on board, Marcel Brands could be looking for more.
Sky Sports reported on Wednesday that Everton were discussing a swap deal involving defender Ashley Williams and Stoke City midfielder Badou Ndiaye – and half of that has now been done.
Everton confirmed this evening that defender Williams has joined Stoke on a season-long loan deal, and the Toffees may now be expecting to land Ndiaye from the Championship club before next week’s transfer deadline.
It remains to be seen whether Everton can land Ndiaye, but the Toffees could be the big winners of any deal seeing the Senegal international head to Goodison Park in exchange for Williams.
Ndiaye, 27, only joined Stoke from Galatasaray in January, but he showed some of the quality which made him so popular in Turkey, possessing all the qualities needed to be a box-to-box midfielder.
Ndiaye has pace, strength, energy, bite in the tackle and drive to move forward in midfield, as well as quality on the ball, and reuniting with international teammate Idrissa Gueye could be a smart move for Everton.
After Williams endured a dismal campaign last season, the 33-year-old isn’t of much use to Everton anymore, and taking Ndiaye on loan – if that is what’s involved in a swap deal – to see whether he can impress under Marco Silva, just like other box-to-box midfielders like Nathaniel Chalobah and Abdoulaye Doucoure did last season, should be a deal that Everton are happy to make, with Ndiaye having much more to offer in the Premier League than Williams at this stage.
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