As the summer transfer window edges closer to closing, the wheels are turning fast as clubs try to get their last-minute business done. In the Premier League, we're already two matchdays into the season, and there's still been quite a bit of movement.

In one of the latest twists of the transfer tales, Iliman Ndiaye looks set to be on his way to Tottenham Hotspur from Everton and Richarlison will be moving back to his old club, as The Athletic's David Ornstein reports. Both deals are seemingly byproducts of a number of moving parts behind the scenes.

Spurs were also interested in Liverpool's Cody Gakpo, who now has his heart set on a move to Manchester City. Still, though, both Everton and Tottenham remain adamant that both the Ndiaye and Richarlison moves are not part of a swap deal.

Richarlison Returns To Merseyside

For the Brazilian striker, he'll be making a return to Everton, a club where he previously spent four seasons after moving from Watford in 2018. During his tenure there, the dynamo of a striker tallied 53 goals and 15 assists from a total of 152 appearances across all competitions, having hbestest seasons in both 2018/19 and 2019/20, having netted 13 league goals in each of those seasons.

Ironically enough, in the season Richarlison left for Tottenham (2022/23), Everton just narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship via Abdoulaye Doucouré's goal to give the Toffees a 1-0 win over Bournemouth at Goodison Park.

It's not to say that Richarlison alone would have prevented the Merseysiders from even being in the relegation zone in that season, but it was clear that both Frank Lampard and then Sean Dyche were not getting nearly enough production from Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Neil Maupay. It was midfielder Dwight McNeil that season who led Everton for league goals (7) - a telling sign that there wasn't anywhere near enough output from the strikers.

Richarlison hasn't quite managed to replicate his Goodison Park form at Tottenham. In the 2022/23 season, he managed three goals and four assists, but the problems at the club extended far beyond his production, or lack thereof. He struggled with various calf and hamstring injuries that season, but that's now well in the past, and Richarlison has more to add to his story with Everton.

Can He Propel Everton To A European Place?

Thanks to James Tarkowski's stoppage-time equaliser at Bournemouth, Everton have enjoyed an unbeaten start to the 2026/27 season by virtue of a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, a 4-0 win over Preston North End in the Carabao Cup, and the 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium.

While Thierno Barry has looked decent for Everton thus far, having scored in the 2-0 win over Palace and a hat-trick in the thrashing of Preston North End in the cup, Richarlison brings that necessary experience and Premier League guile back to the side.

Coming off a season in which he tallied 12 goals and five assists in 43 appearances for a Tottenham side that was completely abysmal, Richarlison could be right where he needs to be to push Everton into a European qualification this season. While they will be losing Ndiaye, the service to Richarlison will still be there through the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tyrique George, and Brennan Johnson, and likewise Vitalii Mykolenko and Merlin Rohl when they push forward.

With the evidence on display from Richarlison's previous campaign and Everton's start to the season, there's no reason to suggest the Brazilian pantomime villain can't crack into thedouble-digitt goal tally this season for David Moyes.