- Tyler Dibling has endured a difficult season at Everton.
- Leon Osman has defended Dibling over his price tag.
- David Moyes has called out the midfielder to do better.
Tyler Dibling’s first season at Everton has not gone as expected. The £42m signing from Southampton has made just 14 appearances and has played only one minute in the past 10 matches.
David Moyes recently challenged the youngster to step up. But former Everton midfielder Leon Osman, who played under Moyes during his first spell, has offered a more sympathetic view and explained why patience is required.
‘This year has been an education’
Leon Osman understands the difficulties Dibling faces. “This year has been an education,” he told BBC Sport. “I would expect him to come back at the start of next pre-season looking like he’s ready to challenge for a first-team place.
“Now he’s had a whole year to understand what’s expected of him, but also let’s not forget that within all this, Tyler is a young lad who is known to be quite a homely person. He has moved the length of the country to live in a completely different environment, where he doesn’t know anybody, so that in itself is a big step for any young man.”
Osman also highlighted the weight of the price tag that came with Tyler Dibling. “And he’s doing that with the weight of expectation that comes with a huge price tag, with people expecting him to deliver every single time in a completely different culture of football club. There has to be a level of understanding.
“Everton is a different environment to a lot of other football clubs, so it’s not always easy to hit the ground running, but his talent shows that if he knuckles down and works as hard as he can, it will work for him.”
Leon Osman backs Tyler Dibling to thrive under David Moyes
Osman believes Dibling’s experience reflects Moyes’ approach to developing young players. “There is no doubt, as we saw from his time at Southampton, that Dibling is a huge talent, very naturally gifted, dribbles brilliantly with the football. He was a free spirit. When you move to the next level, you have to learn more things. And that doubles when you play for a David Moyes team, with his expectations of what you have to do off the ball.
“This was probably one of the reasons why I took a bit of time to prove to David Moyes I could do that, but also one of the reasons I stayed in the team because in a David Moyes side what you do off the ball can often be more important than what you do on the ball.”
The £40m price tag on Tyler Dibling is a massive pressure
Osman acknowledged the inevitable pressure that comes with a big fee. “There is always an expectation when someone joins a football club that they are going to go straight into the team. In the modern market, if he had signed for £9m or £10m, everyone would understand that he wasn’t ready and it’s a project.”
“When a club like Everton pay £40m for someone, they expect that £40m signing to be in the first team straight away, but that same modern market means you have to pay a lot of money as premium for these young kids with Dibling’s talent.”
Moyes has made clear he wants more from Tyler Dibling. Leon Osman’s message is that of patience and understanding on Dibling’s part. Next season will be decisive for Tyler Dibling as he would want to recoup his form and justify the massive fees he signed for. The young man must prove he can handle the weight of the shirt and the massive price tag.
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