On February 3, 2025, Dear Ndour left Paris Saint-Germain definitively to engage with Fiorentina until 2029. Recruited freely in the summer of 2023 from Benfica, the 20-year-old Italian-Senegalese midfielder played only three games with PSG before being successively loaned to Braga and Beşiktaş. The transfer to the Viola was concluded for around 7 million euros, with a resale clause of 50 % and a buyout option in favor of the Parisian club. This departure was part of the PSG strategy aimed at enhancing its young talents while retaining control over their future. Trained in Brescia, then at Atalanta Bergame, he continued his training at Benfica Lisbon, where he distinguished himself by becoming the youngest player to play with team B at 16 and 279 days. He also won UEFA Youth League in 2022 with the U19s of the Portuguese club, notably marking in the final. After winning Euro U19 with Italy in the summer of 2023, Ndour made its debut with PSG on September 3, 2023 during a 4-1 victory against Olympique Lyonnais. He scored his first goal with the Paris club on January 7, 2024 during a French Cup match against the US Revel. To win in playing time, he was loaned to SC Braga in January 2024, where he played 11 games in all competitions, scoring a goal. Then, in August 2024, he was loaned to Beşiktaş JK for the 2024-2025 season, participating in 22 games and scoring a goal. Finally, on February 3, 2025, Dear Ndour was transferred to Tuscany.
His journey is obviously atypical since he has already traveled quite a lot between France, Italy, Portugal and Turkey. A force according to the main interested party: “Experiences abroad have been training, especially on a human level: I have evolved in large changing rooms. But it lacked Italy. Many teams followed me, but it's the right place for me. A role? I like the classic box-to-box, but I am available for all positions, from the midfield to the attacking midfielder. I'm available. When my agent told me about Fiorentina, all the doors were closed. It was the right project and I immediately accepted. Spalletti talked about me and I am delighted. I hope to succeed and arrive in great shape. I can help him in different positions, where he wishes. I also followed the Serie A abroad. The championship is different from the others: it is more physical and tactical. With my physique, it will not be a problem, but I still have to adapt. I have already talked to Palladino, we are on the same wavelength. The group is young and it helps. They are all good players and they have the will to reach the best position in the classification“He said at a press conference on official presentation last January. And since then, water has flowed under the bridges of Arno in Florence, the beginnings of Cher Ndour are not so bad, but the young Italian midfielder of 20 years still struggles to win lasting.
The importance of returning to Italy …
As we announced to you exclusively during the winter transfer window, the wish of Cher Ndour has always been to return to Italy, his native country where he has disputed very few minutes. Encouraged behind the scenes by Luciano Spalletti, the former Benfica player decided to join (finally) Serie A and Italian football. Despite everything, Dear Ndour only retains the positive of his adventure abroad, worthy of a real Erasmus student, as the Italian press is pleasant: “I have spent very good moments abroad, but Italy remains Italy and lately, I have felt an urgent need to return home. Child, I needed stimulation and new experiences. This opportunity to go abroad arose and, despite my young age, I decided to leave. I am lucky to have two parents who care a lot about me, who have always been close to me and who followed me in Lisbon, Paris and even Istanbul. They have always advised me in my choices, leaving me the final decision. I would tell the dear to take things lightly and always pass the pleasure of playing football first. I felt good at Atalanta. They encourage young players a lot, but I felt that I had to change, I needed a new adventure. Benfica also has an excellent training center.“, He recently entrusted to the official TV of the Italian Federation. Since arriving at La Fiorentina in early February 2025, Dear Ndour gradually integrated into the workforce of the Viola. The 20 -year -old Italian -Senegalese midfielder has already participated in five Serie A games, totaling 245 minutes of championship – but for only two tenure.
Although he has not yet scored a goal or delivered as a decisive pass, Ndour shows promising qualities, especially in defense with an average of 2.39 interceptions per match, placing it in the 97th percentile of Calcio field environments. His profile as a “box-to-box” player and his versatility could prove to be precious for Fiorentina in her project led by coach Raffaelle Palladino who notably appreciates his experience in large European clubs where he was able to rub shoulders with great players: “Gigio (Donnarumma, Editor's note) and I immediately linked to Paris, and I came back from the victory of the European Championship and the first thing he did was to congratulate me. I arrived in Istanbul and Ciro (motionless, note) was already there, we got along very well and it was important to be able to speak to him, also because the Turk is not an easy language. Ciro and Gigio have accomplished great things, they both won the European Championship. I hope to be able to win it one day too. The teammate who impressed me the most? Mbappé, in training, he does inhuman things. But I also played with Enzo Fernandez, Hakimi, Dembelé.“Added Ndour. With the emergence of Samuele Ricci, Cesare Casadei, Nicolò Rovella and Niccolò Pisilli, added to the presence of executives like Manuel Locatelli, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Sandro Tonali, Davide Prattesi, Nicolò Barella, the places will be rare in the middle of the Nazional. Dear Ndour will put double bites to win in the country.
