No, you aren’t dreaming. The Toffees have actually signed a right winger.
No disrespect to Jesper Lindstrom and Jack Harrison, who both split minutes on the right side last year, but the right side of the field was Everton’s clearest flaw last year, and the transfer committee needed to address it.
Although they haven’t signed a right back yet, the front office did bring in the 19-year-old Tyler Dibling from Southampton to usher in a new era in that position. Although his basic stats look a little pedestrian, the underlying numbers and context paint a much more interesting picture of what he can provide.
1. His top flight experience is substantial for his age.
Dibling made 45 appearances for Southampton’s first team, 33 of those coming in the Premier League. As a 19-year-old, Dibling has already gotten a taste of a full season in the toughest league in Europe.
He might be raw and not clinical enough to be a game-changer right away, but he will definitely look like he belongs on day one. Whether he starts or not is unclear, but Dibling is too good a player to ride the bench consistently.
2. The more touches he gets in the box, the more he’ll succeed.
Although Dibling brings valuable Premier League experience at such a young age, it’s tempting to look at his actual output and sigh. Was it really worth spending big money on a guy who has six goal contributions in 44 first-team matches?
Tyler Dibling’s key stats in the last 365 days vs. all wingers on fbref.com (Top 5 leagues and European comps.) |
|---|
1.93 Touches (Att Pen) per 90 (3rd percentile) |
2.63 Shot-Creating Actions per 90 (12th percentile) |
2.05 Successful Take-Ons per 90 (75th percentile) |
29.20 Passes Attempted per 90 (19th percentile) |
Anyone with a footballing brain could tell you that Dibling simply didn’t see too much of the ball for Southampton, but when he did, he could make stuff happen. Everton isn’t the best team when it comes to creating chances, but they should be a substantive upgrade for Dibling. Defenses will be too busy marking Ndiaye and Grealish, which could give Dibling some space to take on fullbacks successfully.
3. Everton will most likely bring in an attacking right back to complement him.
We mentioned Everton’s search for a right back before, and never before has this situation become more prevalent. With Nathan Patterson most likely leaving for Sevilla in La Liga, the Toffees are obviously trying to bring in a replacement that can hopefully play in more matches.
Everton are missing a right back that can overlap, and with Patterson out of the picture, they’ll need to bring one in, which could heavily favor Dibling. If a right back covers the wide areas, Dibling can cut inside and be closer to goal. This ties to our previous point. If Dibling gets the ball more, stuff will definitely happen.