Everton are making a big mistake with Tyler Dibling - ex-Goodison employee

If Tyler Dibling is not going to feature regularly for Everton, he should have gone out on loan this season.

That is the opinion of former senior Everton scout, Bryan King, speaking exclusively to Football Insider.

The 20-year-old has failed to come off the bench in any of the Toffees' four Premier League games, appearing for just 64 minutes against Preston North End in the Carabao Cup.

Dibling cost Everton £40million to sign from Southampton last season but he is yet to score a goal or register an assist, and has barely been given a chance.

David Moyes has claimed that chances are coming for the prospect, but there is serious danger that years of his development are being wasted.

Dibling was incredibly exciting when he first broke through for Southampton, and there is clearly talent there that should not be thrown away.

Tyler Dibling 'needs a hand around the shoulder and matches'

Dibling has ultimately stayed at Everton for depth reasons after Iliman Ndiaye left for Manchester City on transfer deadline day.

But a loan move for the teenager should have been sorted long ago, with Moyes clearly not trusting him.

He would be a natural substitute for Brennan Johnson, but Hayden Hackney, a central midfielder, has been the manager's choice.

"I couldn't believe the amount of money that was paid for him. He'd only played about 30 games in the Premier League," King told Football Insider.

"I think it was 33 games he played. £40m? No, I just could not work that deal out at all. Again, he's a player that is young, still got a chance, but I'd have even sent him back on loan to Southampton, or get him out so he's playing games.

"At the moment, he's a young player, not playing games, playing under-21 games maybe, Christ alive. What he needs now is a hand around the shoulder and matches. He's got to have games.

"Otherwise, he might get half an hour against Wolves. But what he should be getting is an hour against Manchester United, an hour against Manchester City. You know, a player that costs that amount of money should be performing at the highest level every week.

"But personally, I can't see it. I certainly never rated him as a £40m player. Either he plays him or he doesn't. It's a very expensive acquisition to just leave him sitting on the bench."

What has David Moyes said about Dibling?

Comments from Moyes have suggested that Dibling's exclusion may be down to a lack of effort in training.

"He'll have to do better in his work and in his training," said Moyes in May. "We brought in Tyrique George on loan from Chelsea, who is of a similar age and as competition as well, to make sure we were covered.

"We want Tyler to step up, we really do. He is important to us. He is a player who we put a lot of faith and money in to, so we are looking for a lot more."

But to make that step up and get that confidence back, Dibling first needs the opportunity on the pitch.