Correction (Wednesday 2 September). The Lamine Camara transfer to Chelsea described below did not go through. The situation reversed twice after the window shut, so here is the correction in full.
Monaco withdrew from the agreement with Chelsea after 23:00, even though the clubs had a written agreement in place and the player had permission for a medical. The reason was that Monaco had meanwhile renegotiated the sale of Folarin Balogun to Everton, and only wanted to sell one player. Chelsea, quoted by Sky Sports, called it “not the way clubs should conduct business”.
We are also correcting a second point. Yesterday, based on the reporting available at the time, we wrote that Balogun’s move to Everton had collapsed over a failed medical, and that this opened the door for Camara. The sequence turned out differently: medical concerns did arise, but Everton renegotiated terms with Monaco, and in the end Balogun himself walked away after midnight, pulling out of the £40m move.
The net result: neither transfer happened. Camara and Balogun both stay at Monaco.
What this changes in Fantasy
More than it might seem, and to Chelsea’s cost. The club sold Enzo Fernández to Manchester City for £125m and did not sign a replacement. The midfield stays as it was: Moisés Caicedo carries an injury flag at 75% and has played a combined 13 minutes across two gameweeks.
For managers that is a note of caution on Chelsea’s cheap midfield options. Unaffected are Cole Palmer and Morgan Rogers — the Chelsea players people actually own — whose situation this saga does not touch. In Gameweek 3 Chelsea travel to the Emirates, rated difficulty 5.
The rest of the article — Ndiaye’s move to Manchester City, and Gakpo staying at Liverpool — remains accurate. Only the Camara section is affected.
Iliman Ndiaye is a Manchester City player. The move from Everton has been officially confirmed — a £65m package (£60m guaranteed plus £5m in bonuses) and a five-year deal. From an FPL point of view it is the most significant move of the window’s closing hours, because Ndiaye is owned by 14.3% of managers.
On top of that, Chelsea are closing on Lamine Camara, and Liverpool turned City down over Cody Gakpo. In order.
Ndiaye: what to do if you own him
The Senegal international spent two seasons at Everton, scoring 17 goals in 74 appearances. He currently rates 88 with a “buy” verdict with us and has played the full 90 minutes in both games so far — this is not a rotation player, it is someone a lot of squads are built around.
The move changes two things at once, and here they pull in opposite directions.
In his favour: fixtures and team. Manchester City host Coventry in Gameweek 3, rated difficulty 2. Everton in the same round are at home to Manchester United, rated 4. City score more often and keep more clean sheets.
Against him: competition for a place. And that is a serious concern. City’s attack already features Haaland, Semenyo on a rating of 89, and Cherki, who scored twice in Gameweek 2 and was the most-bought player of the week. Add the summer arrivals of Bouaddi, Allan and — as we reported this morning — Enzo Fernández for £125m.
At Everton, Ndiaye was guaranteed to start. At City he will have to earn it. Our advice: do not panic-sell him today, but do not buy him before Friday either. Wait for City’s first team sheet after the move — if he starts against Coventry, the picture is clear. In the game’s database he is still listed as an Everton player, so our rating will only recalculate after the update.
Gakpo stays at Liverpool — and that is good news
Ndiaye ended up at City because Liverpool rejected their bid for Cody Gakpo, who was Pep Guardiola’s first choice for the role.
That closes a thread we opened last week around Barcola’s £120m transfer. We wrote then that Gakpo’s place was under threat and that our recommendation was changing. The picture is clearer now: the Dutchman is staying at Anfield. He rates 89 with a “buy” verdict on 7.7% ownership, and 114,000 managers bought him this week. Barcola’s competition remains real, but at least we know Gakpo is not going anywhere.
Camara to Chelsea for €55m
Chelsea have agreed a deal for Lamine Camara from Monaco worth €55m. The 22-year-old Senegal international has verbally agreed a six-year contract with the option of a further year, and has permission to travel for a medical.
The interesting part is why the deal happened at all. Monaco initially said €55m was not enough — but then their €50m sale of Folarin Balogun to Everton collapsed after the striker failed his medical. The Ligue 1 club needed another major sale to hit its financial targets. Chelsea came back with the same number and this time heard yes.
For Chelsea this replaces Enzo Fernández, who left for City today. Camara is meant to form a double pivot with Moisés Caicedo — and it is worth knowing that Caicedo carries an injury flag at 75% and has played a combined 13 minutes across two gameweeks. Chelsea’s midfield is thin right now.
Camara is not in the game’s database yet, so you cannot buy him before Friday’s deadline anyway.
Everton after losing Ndiaye
Everton lose the winger we rated highest at the club, but several of their players remain worth attention:
| Player | Position | Price | Ownership | Rating | GW2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dewsbury-Hall | midfielder | £6.5m | 4.4% | 88 — buy | 2 pts |
| Tarkowski | defender | £6.0m | 10.2% | 86 — buy | 12 pts |
| Pickford | goalkeeper | £5.5m | 8.8% | — | 3 pts |
Tarkowski was among the best defenders of Gameweek 2 and 143,000 managers bought him this week. Losing a winger does not change his situation — and Everton are at home in Gameweek 3.
What to do before Friday
The Gameweek 3 deadline is Friday 4 September at 18:30 UK. The transfer window shuts today at 23:00 UK, plus two hours for paperwork.
- If you own Ndiaye, leave him alone today. Wait for City’s first team sheet after the move.
- If you were planning Gakpo, the exit risk has gone, but Barcola’s competition has not.
- Do not buy Camara or any other fresh signing the game has not added yet.
- Check whether you own anyone who has already left the league — we listed them in this morning’s piece on the Enzo transfer.
- Come back to your squad on Thursday or Friday morning, once the game has processed deadline-day moves.
Current ratings are in the AI Rankings, the difficulty run in the Fixture Ticker, and a ready-made fifteen in the Recommended Squad.
The Ndiaye transfer is officially confirmed by the club. The Camara deal is agreed and the player has permission for a medical, but it has not been formally announced. Our ratings are generated by an AI model from official FPL data, refreshed hourly; the numbers are from Tuesday 1 September.