SOMETIMES, all it takes is a goal. A name on the scoresheet in a high-profile match to alert a wider audience to something regular observers have been aware of for some time. Iliman Ndiaye’s goal for Everton against Manchester City on Boxing Day did just that.

Everton go into this weekend’s meeting with Nottingham Forest having taken a point from games against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City in their last three fixtures.

Those points have arrived on the back of defensive performances that have seen Everton keep clean sheets in seven of their last 11 games.

It hasn’t always been pretty or entertaining football, but amid all of this, there has at least been some isolated entertainment from Everton’s left-winger.

With low socks and long sleeves, Ndiaye has an aura about him. The last player who brought a similar spirit to Everton’s play was James Rodriguez, but his performances happened behind Covid closed doors during a Carlo Ancelotti era that barely seems believable now.

The surreal nature of Covid football and what’s happened to Everton post-Ancelotti makes the talk of Champions League qualification that accompanied that time feel like it happened in a parallel universe.

That era also led to many of the later, long-term problems. Overspending on the wrong players and some stodgy contracts eventually caught up with the club.

Everton and this weekend’s opponent Nottingham Forest were made examples of — given points deductions as the Premier League tried to convince everyone they could manage football’s runaway capitalism without the need for a regulator.

Much of the struggles at Everton since have been caused by that and other elements of the hangover left by poor management at ownership and board level.

It has been difficult for Everton to sign players at all, let alone spend the types of amounts needed to attract players of a Premier League standard, so when they do make a signing, they need to make it count.

That hasn’t always happened, but in Ndiaye Everton struck gold. The Senegalese arrived from Marseille in the summer of 2024 for around £17 million which now looks like a bargain.

Ndiaye is similar in style to players such as Eberechi Eze and Jack Grealish. There is a jinkiness about his dribbling as he uses the ball to bait defenders before taking it past them.

There are ideas as soon as he takes possession, and a shape as he receives the ball and turns that make it difficult for opponents to dispossess him.

Playing from the left under Dyche he has also shown good work rate off the ball, pressing the opposition build-up as well as covering to help out his left full-back.

“He is capable of a lot,” said Everton captain Seamus Coleman speaking to the BBC after the 1-1 draw at Man City. “He is very talented and very good in the dressing room as well.

“He has an unbelievable work ethic and has that star quality. He’s doing very well with the help of others around him. I think he can keep improving as well.”

This kind of teamwork also manifests itself in link-up play in deeper areas and midfield involvement as well as offering an outlet in attack from out wide.

Some notes from our match reports earlier in the season describe Ndiaye as lighting up the game and being “a magnet to the ball.”

In his commentary for Ndiaye’s goal against Manchester City on Boxing Day, Clive Tyldesley reported: “Everton fans fell in love with Iliman Ndiaye at first sight. Talented and mischievous international from Senegal.”

Ndiaye’s three Premier League goals for Everton this season have been scored away from home and he is yet to register an assist in the league.

Though he currently comes across as more of a ball carrier and a player who is creative earlier in moves than one who gets the final touch for the goal or assist, a few more shrewd signings in attacking areas would surely see his numbers skyrocket.

Everton lack a clinical edge in the final third. If they had that, they might have converted one or two of those impressive recent draws into wins.

If the club could find another transfer similar to that of Ndiaye, not necessarily the same kind of player, but someone to complement him with some added decisiveness and ruthlessness in the final third, Everton could start to spring a few surprises.

Under new ownership into a new year in which Everton will move into a new stadium, there is hope that some new signings will arrive. If they can keep the defensive base and add some cutting edge in the final third to the flair and quality Ndiaye brings, things could start looking up following a difficult period.