For Iliman Ndiaye, it was impossible to say no. When the club where he spent a year in the renowned academy, before being forced to leave when his family moved to Senegal, came calling in the summer, the softly spoken forward had little hesitation despite having guided Sheffield United back to the Premier League.
“It started when I was five years old and I was given my first football kit; it was a Marseille shirt,” said Ndiaye with a distinctive north London twang. “But that’s not the only thing that makes me love this club. The fans, the crazy atmosphere in the stadium … I’ve always dreamed of playing in front of them. And the great players that I’ve seen playing for Marseille. It made me want to become like them.”
Although the 23-year-old made an impressive start to his Marseille career with an assist on his Ligue 1 debut, he had to wait until last Saturday’s 3-2 defeat by Monaco to score his first goal after a tumultuous few weeks. The manager Marcelino resigned in response to what he called “intimidation, threats and slander” from supporters in the wake of a 4-0 defeat by Paris Saint-Germain. Such is life under the spotlight in the south of France.
But Ndiaye, who moved to London when he was 14 and played for Boreham Wood’s youth teams before joining Sheffield United in 2019, appears to be taking it all in his stride. “At every match the supporters are behind us no matter what the score is,” he said diplomatically, although he has yet to live the experience of scoring a goal in front of them at the Stade Vélodrome. “It made me happy to do it against Monaco – I had been waiting for this moment for a long time.”
Around 60,000 are expected on Thursday night, with 3,000 Brighton fans having made the trip for their first away match in the Europa League in what should be an intimidating atmosphere for Roberto De Zerbi’s side. Ndiaye says the opportunity to play in European competition was a big factor in his decision to join Marseille for about £20m instead of fighting against relegation in the Premier League. It is understood he had been expected to agree a new deal at Bramall Lane before changing his mind at the last minute.
The chance to play alongside Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, whom Ndiaye describes as “one of my idols”, was another major benefit to making the move. “When I was young, I watched him play all the time,” he said. “So it’s nice to play with him. He pushes me a lot. When we do shooting sessions together, for example, he tells me how to do it. I really appreciate his help. I hope to reach the level he had during his career and do a lot of great things with him this season.”
Marseille, whose new manager – the former Italy midfielder Gennaro Gattuso – will get his first taste of the famous Vélodrome atmosphere on Thursday having taken charge for the first time against Monaco, also signed Ndiaye’s Senegal teammate Ismaïla Sarr from Watford in the summer in a new-look forward line. Aubameyang’s only goals this season have come in European competition – two in the Champions League qualifying defeat by Panathinaikos and another two against Ajax in the Europa League.
Gattuso insists that the Gabon striker remains a potent force at 34, despite Aubameyang’s struggles at Chelsea last season, when he scored once in 15 Premier League appearances.
“I speak with him a lot,” Gattuso said. “Being 34 doesn’t matter, the important thing is his physique. He is still sprinting at 35-36km/h in training. He has already scored two goals this season in the Europa League.”
Gattuso also believes Marseille will have to be “perfect” to beat Brighton in a match that will reunite him with De Zerbi after they swapped more than a few words during the 2016 Serie C promotion playoff when managing Pisa and Foggia respectively after the former Rangers midfielder was struck by an object thrown from the stands. “I have known De Zerbi for a long time, he is a great coach. There are no secrets.”
Ndiaye said: “They are a team that plays the most beautiful football but everyone is beatable. These are the kind of games I want to play in for Marseille.”
