‘We want him to step up’ – David Moyes sets Tyler Dibling new Everton challenge

The Blues boss has seen things he likes from Dibling and believes he can progress at Everton – he wants to see more from him, though

David Moyes re-iterated there is no “panic” about the limited impact of Tyler Dibling in his first season at Everton but has challenged the starlet to “do better”.

The England youth international was the Blues’ most expensive signing of last summer, the club completing a deal with Southampton for an initial £35m. He has barely featured in his debut campaign on Merseyside, however, and has played just one minute in the past 10 matches.

Heading into the final weeks of the season, Moyes insisted he was happy to be patient with the 20-year-old but added: “We want him to step up.”

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Dibling arrived at Everton as part of a summer rebuild after the austerity that marked the final years of the regime of former owner Farhad Moshiri. His progress initially stalled as fellow new arrival Jack Grealish and Iliman Ndiaye began the season in fine form, inspiring Moyes’ team to a positive start to the first year at the club’s new Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Opportunities increased over the festive season amid Ndiaye’s departure to the Africa Cup of Nations and as injuries struck attacking stars like Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Dibling was lively off the bench in a draw at Burnley and played well in an important win at Nottingham Forest.

He has been unable to seize the opportunity created by the premature end of Grealish’s season though and instead found himself behind January loan signing Tyrique George, Dwight McNeil and Ndiaye.

Asked whether his lack of minutes was part of his development or a reflection of ‘where he is’ right now, Moyes said: “It’s where he is. He’ll have to do better, I think. He’ll have to do better in his work and in his training. We brought in Tyrique, who is of a similar age and as competition as well to make sure we were covered. I think Tyrique has done well in the moments he’s had in games and shown some bits that we like, so we want Tyler to step up, we really do. He’s important to us. He’s a player who we put a lot of faith and money into to bring him here so we are looking for a lot more.”

Dibling is not the only player to struggle for minutes at Everton in recent months as Moyes has relied heavily on a trusted core of senior players to maintain the club’s push for Europe. He is also far from the only winger to have struggled to make an immediate impact after a big summer move – the likes of Anthony Elanga and Dan Ndoye have produced limited attacking returns after more expensive moves to Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest respectively.

And Moyes has been sympathetic to Dibling’s plight at various points this season, highlighting his misfortune to find himself behind Ndiaye and Grealish as they made such a strong impression in the early months of the season. He has also taken opportunities to challenge the youngster to push harder for a first team role.

The chances that have arrived have instead gone to fellow England Under-21s teammate George, who Moyes has turned to from the bench in each of Everton’s last three Premier League matches. Everton have the option to make George’s move permanent in the summer. Another decision that could impact Dibling’s efforts to force his way into the first team is Everton’s eagerness to extend Grealish’s stay at the club. Talks are expected with Manchester City at the end of the season about whether another loan deal can be agreed.

Ahead of the visit of Pep Guardiola’s side to Everton on Monday, Moyes made clear he does see a future for Dibling at the club though, adding: “That’s why we are not panicking with it, because of his age. We want him to step up, we are hoping that he’ll improve and next year will be a big year for him to see if he can do that.”