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Iliman Ndiaye, Jack Grealish, Daniel Munoz and David Moyes silence - your Everton questions answered Joe Thomas and Christopher Beesley answer readers' questions on the burning issues at Everton Liverpool ECHO Everton reporters Joe Thomas and Christopher Beesley have been answering your questions after we invited readers to contact us about the issues that mattered to them. Here are their responses... Attila Tákos asks: What's the latest on Iliman Ndiaye's future at Everton? Are Arsenal really interested in him? Joe Thomas: Iliman Ndiaye currently looks set to stay with Everton. The interest from Al-Hilal was intriguing because it provided him an opportunity to earn a significant pay rise - something that would matter to him given his late emergence into top-flight football - and the chance to win silverware at regular intervals. Yet a move to Saudi Arabia, which would also have seen him join close friend Idrissa Gueye out there - was always going to threaten ambitions he has spoken publicly about. They are essentially to prove himself at the highest level, namely the Champions League. Staying true to that goal appears to have scuppered the potential for a move to Al-Hilal and he has settled well at Everton since linking back up with the club. Remember - the Blues want to keep him and will not make it easy for a club to prise one of their star players away. That is part of the reason contract talks to date have failed, with Ndiaye’s camp having been keen for a mechanism within the deal that would set the terms for his departure should one of Europe’s biggest names come knocking. They still could do - Arsenal are on the lookout for a left-sided attacker. Leandro Trossard has been sold to Besiktas and the Gunners are open to offers for Gabriel Martinelli. They did look at Vinicius Junior before he signed a new Real Madrid contract too. Ndiaye is Premier League proven and they would be able to reach a figure Everton would likely listen to should they lock on him. There is still a chance Manchester United could act on their interest too, though that would depend on how the Marcus Rashford situation unfolds. Harry 87 asks: Jack Grealish was brilliant for us last season before his injury. But with the options we’ve now got, is he needed? Chris Beesley: I must admit I’m somewhat torn on this one myself Harry. Jack Grealish’s merits are obvious, but a return would put him ahead of a younger team-mate. The first £100million English footballer when he joined Manchester City from Aston Villa in 2021, Grealish turns 31 next month, and he’s still a class act. There is nobody in the Everton squad who can match him in terms of his ability to carry the ball up the pitch and win free-kicks, or slow things down to play the game at his own pace. He’s still going to have to prove his fitness again though after what was a serious injury in January that curtailed his previous spell at Hill Dickinson Stadium but given some of his previous comments and recent social media activity from Grealish, he appears to still have a lot of love for the Blues and seems eager to return. A year on, would he be worth another punt? Or is he just going to be a hampering the progress of someone like Tyrique George who capped a sparkling display in the 3-1 win against Newcastle United at Murrayfield by netting his first goal for the club. Also, with Brennan Johnson having been signed and able to play on the right wing plus Tyler Dibling looking to steps things up after a difficult first season on Merseyside, Iliman Ndiaye could revert to the left where he excelled in Goodison Park’s final campaign if Grealish doesn’t return. There’s a lot to weigh up, but ultimately Grealish improves this Everton squad so if they can re-sign him then they probably should do. Joe asks: Why haven’t we heard anything from David Moyes through the entirety of pre-season? Not even comments on either Christian Norgaard or Brennan Johnson signings. Joe Thomas: It is no doubt unusual. Getting a chat with an Everton manager is often a cat-and-mouse game during the summer, when they are not under any obligation to talk after pre-season matches - unless their club is involved in a set piece tournament like the Premier League Summer Series last Everton were last summer. But we, or another outlet, would usually expect to have had some dealings with him by now - especially given the expense and logistics of covering two games in Germany and two in Scotland. That has not happened though. Perhaps more strikingly, he has not done anything with club media channels - so as you allude to, he is yet to share his thoughts with supporters at all. This will largely be down to the manager’s own decision-making - and typically when managers have something they want to say, they have plenty of options open to them. What it does do is deprive the supporters of the club’s own narrative through an important summer that comes from the back of a disappointing end to last season. Whether he will speak after Lille remains to be seen but my understanding is he did do the obligatory interviews with rights holders this week as part of their preparation for the season. He will have to hold a press conference ahead of the Crystal Palace game, so gaining an understanding of his views on the upcoming campaign is not far off. Blue88 asks: If Crystal Palace are willing to sell Daniel Munoz, why are we not snapping their hand off? Chris Beesley: It feels like there could be some differences of opinion from the recruitment team over Daniel Munoz if indeed he is available because it almost sounds too good to be true. Perhaps Everton got wind that he was available when they were negotiating with Crystal Palace over the Brennan Johnson-Dwight McNeil swap deal? Personally, I’d be volunteering to go down to south London personally and drive Munoz back to Merseyside myself if I felt there was a sniff of getting him to sign. The Blues’ marathon unsuccessful pursuit of a right-back has reached ridiculous proportions now, over six months on from Moyes admitting they’d been searching for a player in that position for over a year. Munoz is perhaps one of the few targets they could land at this stage who could potentially hit the ground running and be available for the start of the Premier League season, with Everton of course ironically facing his current employers at home in their first fixture. He’s Premier League proven and was one of the most mobile right-backs in the division last season. He’s a winner – having helped the Eagles lift the first two major trophies in their history this past couple of seasons (I’m not counting the 4-1 victory after extra-time in the Zenith Data Systems Cup final in 1991 when Neville Southall refused to collect his runners-up medal) and he also has an eye for a goal. Given how players look after themselves these days, 30 isn’t that old – especially when the Blues have already snapped up 32-year-old Christian Norgaard – so for me, similar to yourself, it’s a case of what’s not to like about this potential transfer coup to solve a long-term problem position in emphatic fashion. Matt asks: Who is to blame for the lack of a right-back signing? Numerous reports say David Moyes is blocking what the committee have recommended. And does Moyes recognise how bad Vitalli Mykolenko has become? What chances Adam Aznou sees the field at some point? Joe Thomas asks: On the right back situation, there is no hiding for anyone involved at the club should one not be sorted by the end of the window. This has been a longstanding issue and one that pre-dates the arrival of the Friedkin Group and return of David Moyes. But both have now been in place long enough for it to be clear this area needs addressing, with the last of Angus Kinnear’s senior leadership team appointments starting at the club at the end of last summer. Moyes has spoken publicly about the need for a right-back, so we know he is aware of that problem. Whether Moyes and the committee agree on everything or not, both will have to shoulder blame if this problem is not sorted as both should be working in the interests of the club - and we can all see the club needs a right back. Vitalii Mykolenko has had a difficult pre-season but has long been trusted at Everton and was rewarded with a new contract towards the end of last season. Adam Aznou has had a few opportunities this summer and my hope is that, if the club opts not to enter the market in search of cover and competition for Mykolenko, then they give Aznou a genuine chance to provide it.