Real Madrid to Match Valencia Basket's Offer for Eli John Ndiaye

Real Madrid has decided to match the offer presented by Valencia Basket for Eli John Ndiaye. According to MARCA, the white club will exercise its right of first refusal before the deadline expires this Friday at 11:59 PM.

The Madrid club included Ndiaye in the right of first refusal last summer, when the player's contract ended and he decided to try his luck in the United States. In this way, Real Madrid reserved the possibility of matching any Liga Endesa proposal and recovering the power forward if he returned to the Spanish league.

The move gains more weight given the current context of the white club's market. The possible departure of Mario Hezonja to the NBA, despite the open conflict over the execution of his clause, has reinforced the idea of betting on Ndiaye's return. The club values his youth, his knowledge of the organization, his status as a homegrown player, and his ability to adapt to Pedro Martínez's style of play.

For Valencia Basket it represents another blow in a summer marked by several clashes with Real Madrid. The whites already took Pedro Martínez, the head coach of the Liga Endesa championship-winning project, and Jaime Pradilla, one of the most important pieces of the orange club. Now they will also prevent, barring an unexpected turn, Ndiaye's arrival at La Fonteta.

The power forward would return to a roster with plenty of competition at the four position, where Gabriel Deck, Chuma Okeke, Jaime Pradilla, and Mikael Jantunen appear. The paint will also be completed with Edy Tavares and the expected arrivals of Damian Jones and Olivier Sarr, while Usman Garuba will be out for much of the season due to his Achilles tendon injury.

Ndiaye comes from a brief stint in the United States. He did not debut in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks, but he did see minutes with the College Park Skyhawks, where he averaged 8.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in the G League. His season ended early due to a shoulder injury that required surgery.

Now, after not finding playing time in the Summer League, his return to Liga Endesa is very close. And everything points to it being once again with Real Madrid.