David Moyes has denied claims that Everton have rejected a bid for Iliman Ndiaye as he believes owners The Friedkin Group would back him in the transfer market
David Moyes speaks to Iliman Ndiaye during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Everton at Old Trafford on November 24, 2025(Image: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
David Moyes has dismissed claims that Everton have rejected a bid for Iliman Ndiaye. And he has insisted The Friedkin Group will back him in the transfer market if he can identify the right players.
Iliman Ndiaye is currently on international duty with Hill Dickinson Stadium colleague Idrissa Gueye, preparing for Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations final with Senegal against hosts Morocco.
And asked in his pre-match press conference to preview the Blues’ trip to Aston Villa on the same day whether the club had knocked back an offer for Ndiaye, Moyes said: “There’s absolutely zero truth in that. If there is, I don’t know anything about it, that’s for sure.
READ MORE: David Moyes makes Everton January transfers admission as eight players set to miss Aston VillaREAD MORE: Jarrad Branthwaite steps up Everton injury comeback as David Moyes gets double boost
“As far as I’m concerned, I’ve never even heard of it to be honest. It sounds like someone has made that up somewhere, you know what I mean.
“We’ve no intention of letting Ili go, none whatsoever. I’m sure there’s a price for every player on the planet if you look around but if you ask me, we have no intention of selling Ili – we need him back.
“We need him back to give us some creativity and make and score goals. So, we’re missing him for all those good reasons.”
In terms of the recruitment structure at the club, Moyes maintains that decisions still ultimately rest with himself in contrast with some of his Premier League rivals, who now employ continental style head coaches instead of managers.
He said: “I’ve got the final say if we want to buy a player or we don’t want to buy a player. But I get told by my superiors how much we’ve got to spend and what we’ve got available and I have to work off those thoughts.
“I think Angus (Kinnear) came out in the programme a few weeks ago and probably came and gave you all a pretty good answer from the CEO. I think we’re in there trying but it doesn’t mean we’re just going to take any player for the sake of it.”
Moyes actually complained in the summer that in the first time in several years, Everton had money for players but weren’t always able to spend it as they couldn’t acquire all the targets they wanted.
However, the 62-year-old believes that the Blues’ American owners will give him the financial backing he needs if he is able to convince the right individuals to come.
He said: “All managers, we’re all hoping to get bigger numbers, but I think the club have outlined we spent in the summer, that was the main part. It’s not me who’s is saying it, the CEO is saying it as well that we don’t expect to be doing too much business, so that’s where we are with it really.
“I think we had about 12 or 13 players out of contract in the summer, so it’s been quite a big turnaround already. If I can get a couple of players in, the club will certainly back me, I’ve got no doubt about that, they’ve been really good.
“Maybe they can’t back me on a £60million or £70million signing but they’ll back me on what they’d think would be the right numbers if we can come up with the players required.”