Iliman Ndiaye has not said much about Sheffield United since leaving for Marseille in the summer for a fee of around £20m.
The Blades lost Ndiaye to the French giants despite looking like they’d tied the striker down to a new contract. Since then, United have struggled in the Premier League and are yet to pick up a win. Ndiaye, meanwhile, hasn’t done well either, only scoring his first Marseille goal at the weekend.
And speaking after that game and ahead of Europa League action this week, Ndiaye has admitted he found it hard to make a decision to leave.
Iliman Ndiaye on why he left Sheffield United
Speaking to French media outlet Le10 Sport, Ndiaye admitted he had thought long and hard about the move, before deciding European football was a big draw for him.
“There are many reasons for this choice. It was hard to choose between the Premier League and my favourite club. Playing European matches was part of my decision. It was a tough choice and I thought it through very carefully. I think I made the right decision by joining OM,” Ndiaye said.
Sheffield United News View: Really disappointing
We get all the arguments from Ndiaye about signing for his boyhood club, European football, and the fact that Marseille are such a well-known team in Europe.
However, we still think the entire thing stinks a bit and Ndiaye’s decision to leave doesn’t sit well with us.
Having effectively agreed to sign the contract and the club preparing statements and videos and whatever other fanfare to go with the move, Ndiaye deciding to sign for Marseille was pretty hard to swallow.
In the end, he left the chance to build a legacy at Bramall Lane and become a Blades legend. Instead, he’ll be looked back on as a talented player who simply jumped ship at the first opportunity.
Ndiaye going set United back completely in the summer as well and there’s every chance that his departure has cost us points this season, such was his importance.
Sure, we’ve brought other players in and used the money. But we’re now a different team without Ndiaye the great shame of it all is that the Premier League hasn’t got to witness just how good he was.