To be blunt, the only surprise is that it has taken until now for tangible interest in Iliman Ndiaye to surface.The Senegal forward’s Everton future has been shrouded in uncertainty since the beginning of the calendar year, when talks over a new contract began.With Ndiaye having three years left on his existing deal, Everton were in a strong position and technically did not need to enter into discussions.There was a desire to reward the 26-year-old’s status as a key player and move him into the top bracket of earners. Yet the fact Ndiaye has spurned numerous attempts to get him to sign a new deal suggests that he, at the very least, has been looking to hedge his bets.Some would no doubt go further than that, given the desire for a release clause, valid from this summer, which would have taken almost all of the power away from Everton when it came to the timing of any potential exit.Champions League clubs in England and abroad have followed the former Sheffield United and Marseille man for more than 12 months. As The Athletic revealed last summer, Italy’s Inter had an enquiry rejected around the £40million ($53.1m at the current rate) mark. That now feels like a precursor to everything that has followed.The sense from those with knowledge of Ndiaye’s situation, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, as recently as this month, was that a market for his services had yet to truly develop.Iliman Ndiaye scored Everton’s first official goal at Hill Dickinson Stadium last August against Brighton (Clive Mason/Getty Images)There have been wild fees spent this summer, creating a vastly inflated market, but some wondered whether the Merseyside club’s valuation, expected to be similar to the £70million Barcelona paid Newcastle United a few weeks ago for England winger Anthony Gordon, would be problematic. There had been informal expressions of interest to his camp, but no approach to Everton.That, it should be pointed out, is still the case at the time of writing, despite news that Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal are staying abreast of his situation. It remains to be seen whether a formal offer follows in that case, but they have been given enough encouragement by the player’s camp to at least consider bidding. Doing so could serve the purpose of sparking other suitors into action.Ndiaye has spoken this summer about his desire to play at the top level. Al Hilal and the Saudi Pro League would not represent that but would almost certainly yield a potentially transformative salary for a player who joined Everton two years ago on wages of around £60,000 a week.When you consider his journey up to now — the days dribbling a football on Senegal’s beaches with his father, early rejection from English academies, games in London’s amateur leagues and subsequent development at non-League Boreham Wood and then Sheffield United in the Championship — it is easier to see why something like this would appeal.For now, though, we are having to engage in hypotheticals.Everton are in a strong position contractually and are under no pressure financially to sell, despite the obvious squad cost ratio (SCR) boost they would receive from making a significant profit on a player they signed from Marseille for £15million. There may be a temptation to cash in on someone who has signalled they are weighing up their long-term future. It makes most sense, ordinarily, to do that at a time of maximum leverage, which with Ndiaye is now.A significant bid though — and we know Al Hilal are capable of that, as the recent £60million deal to sign Netherlands forward Crysencio Summerville from relegated West Ham attests — would nevertheless leave Everton in a difficult situation.First there are the optics, internally and with fans, of selling a key player at this stage in the project, when there is an anxiety in some quarters over a lack of recent incoming transfer business and a desire from many supporters to see the club put what was a disappointing end to last season, going winless in the final seven matches to miss out on potential Euroepan qualification, behind them.With no replacement as yet forthcoming — fellow winger and recent £18million buy Tyrique George is talented, but the 20-year-old Chelsea academy graduate is yet to feature or score consistently at Premier League level — the squad would immediately be weakened if Ndiaye left. And this is after the exits already this summer of two stalwarts in Idrissa Gueye and Seamus Coleman, with the former having been a regular starter last term at age 36. The 37-year-old Coleman’s influence by then was more in the dressing room than on the pitch.Idrissa Gueye, right, has left Everton – could Senegal team-mate Ndiaye be next? (Carl Recine/Getty Images)Any profit made on Ndiaye would surely be offset too by the largely staggering valuations clubs are placing on players. The market would know Everton had money and needed to replace a key man, which does not necessarily help them as they go shopping.Everton’s new recruitment team, fully in place for the first time this summer with the department led by James Smith, have their hands full looking for a right-back and a replacement for Gueye in central midfield. These are key pillars; comfort blankets who raised the floor of the team.Replacing Ndiaye, though, would be the toughest task yet, given market conditions and his importance to the team. Coleman was valued more for his leadership than his play by the end, while Gueye had started to show signs of wear.The greatest ever World Cup signing?Mark CritchleyAs The Athletic reported last month, Everton have been assessing goal-scoring right-wingers for this window.Someone like Jarrod Bowen, who their manager David Moyes signed for West Ham in 2020, was always expected to be out of reach, while Bologna’s 23-year-old former England Under-21 international Jonathan Rowe, who featured lower down last season’s shortlists, would likely command a big fee.Selling Ndiaye would only add further strain at a time when all eyes are fixed on the setup. Everton would have to get their next steps right.They would have the chance to reinvest the money received and come out the other end stronger, but there are no guarantees in recruitment. We may be about to see what these new faces are made of.