Iliman Ndiaye has returned to fitness as Everton prepare to face Arsenal in the Premier League.

David Moyes has admitted that he will try to give Iliman Ndiaye opportunities in the Everton No.10 role.

Ndiaye has returned from a knee injury which ruled him out for almost two months. The summer signing from Marseille has been one of the Blues’ standout performers and their chief attacking threat. He has scored eight goals in 27 games.

Ndiaye has mainly featured in a left-wing role for Everton. That’s despite him playing centrally at Sheffield United when he helped them to promotion to the Premier League in the 2022-23 season. Former manager Sean Dyche previously claimed there was ‘no evidence’ to suggest that Ndiaye would be at his best operating in the No.10 position. Dyche said in November: “People keep telling me I should be playing him in the No.10 but there’s no evidence to suggest that he should be playing as a No.10. People keep telling me my role as a manager, as they do.

“I think he can adapt to play there but the modern No.10 you have to defend from there as well. You see Dwight McNeil doing very well on the defensive side. It’s not as easy as people think, getting in the right passing lane, stopping the opposition and then, on the turnover and transition in play, attacking in the right format and learning how to do that consistently over 90, 95 minutes.

“So that can be developed over time but, at the moment, I think he’s doing a good job coming off the left. He can wriggle, he can affect [the play], and he can drive into the box and I think he’s doing well with that. I think he’s still young in his Premier League learning, that’s for sure, and he’s still adapting, so we’re letting him go a little bit whilst coaching him as well.”

Everton have eight games remaining this season. They are virtually safe from Premier League relegation after a nine-match unbeaten run ended in a 1-0 loss to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby earlier this week.

Ndiaye came off the bench at Anfield and will be hoping for more minutes when Arsenal visit Goodison Park tomorrow. And experimenting with the Senegal international in a new position between now and May is something that Moyes is open to. Speaking at his pre-Gunners press conference, Moyes said: “I think it's something if we can get an opportunity to see him, we will try to get him there at some point between now and the end of the season in that position.

“We have needed him in other positions and got other people who can maybe do jobs in different ways - maybe more off the ball than on the ball. I think that Ili... we've actually had good results without Ili. We must not forget that we have had some good results. I thought when we lost him in the first Liverpool game, I was thinking: 'My goodness, we have lost our main attacking threat'. But let's be fair; other people stepped up to the mark and got a few goals. But we will try to find him the opportunity to get him more central.”