Harrison Armstrong (left), Tyler Dibling (centre) and Tyrique George (right) could represent a bright future for Everton and England
Harrison Armstrong (left), Tyler Dibling (centre) and Tyrique George (right) could represent a bright future for Everton and England
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“His talent is incredible. You can see in glimpses he shows when he goes past people. We see in training all the time how good he is. But then doing it [in games] is the hardest part. But the past couple of games he’s showing what he can really do. Hopefully, he can build from that.”
Those are the words of Everton captain James Tarkowski on the emergence this summer of Tyler Dibling the £35m starlet who endured a miserable maiden campaign on Merseyside.
Having been touted as a £100m player as he provided the bright sparks in a dismal relegation season for Southampton, that the Blues were able to convince Dibling to move north in the summer of 2025 felt impressive
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Given the deal, even if add-ons are met, was for a fraction of the valuations bandied around as he caught the Premier League by storm, it felt like a coup for a club attempting to launch a revival after years of austerity, financial chaos and relegation fights.
Up until the final seven games, when the gilded prize of a shock return to European football slipped from the grasp of David Moyes’ side, last season was a positive one. Of the disappointments that did materialise, the failure of Dibling to make an instant impression was one of the biggest.
The concerns that followed - whether the 20-year-old starlet was destined to struggle at Everton - are now on the cusp of being banished.
There were good signs in pre-season as Dibling, given plenty of opportunity by Moyes, appeared to grow in confidence, albeit through performances against lesser sides. The breakthrough came against Wolves in the Carabao Cup, though.
The England Under-21s international was an influence in both directions and deserved the man-of-the-match award as he created the goal that gave the Blues a narrow victory.
Assistant manager Alan Irvine was glowing after the match: “Since he came back for pre-season, he's looked like he belongs here. He has looked more comfortable. He's a very quiet lad, Tyler, and it can sometimes take quiet lads, young lads, quite a bit of time to settle in, especially to a club like this with the expectations that are here, so that was probably difficult for him last year.
“But he's come back right from the first day of pre-season, looking much more comfortable in the environment and being able to play for a club of this size.”
Moyes, prone to rolling his head back or throwing his arms up in frustration when an attack breaks down, had his hands raised high to applaud Dibling after a passage of play that saw the youngster international play a sublime through-ball that Brennan Johnson should have finished before racing back to halt the ensuing counter attack with an inch-perfect challenge on the edge of his own box.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Tyler Dibling of Everton during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Hill Dickinson Stadium on September 16, 2026 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images)
Tyler Dibling was excellent for Everton in their Carabao Cup win over Wolves(Image: Everton FC/Everton FC via Getty Images)
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“I liked the pass because that's what we brought him for,” Moyes said at Finch Farm two days later. I have just said about the DNA at Everton and he's beginning to show it by that [tackle]. He's beginning to show that we don't always have the top quality and we might not always have the best but we're expecting him to do everything he can for the team and he did in that moment.”
Dibling deserved to win man of the match and it was fitting that it came against Wolves in the Carabao Cup. He had few chances to impress last year, particularly when Jack Grealish and IIliman Ndiaye impressed from the flanks in the opening months of the season. He struggled when he did, though, with one of his most difficult nights the abject defeat at Molineux, a game he started.
The question for Dibling is whether he can prevent the Wolves performance from being a false dawn. He had shown glimpses before, including in the hard-fought Christmas win at Nottingham Forest, but failed to build on them.
The early signs are positive on that front. While he did not start the following game, against Ipswich Town in the Premier League, he helped Everton gain the ascendancy in a second half they had started poorly. Dibling came close twice and picked out Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at the back post for a chance the midfielder would have expected to have done better from.
Pin-pointing the catalyst for Dibling’s rise in form is not easy but there is an obvious starting point - one Tarkowksi reached for when speaking to Everton’s media team about his team-mate this week. “He’s got a good couple of mates who build him up,” the centre-back said.
His comment referred to the friendship group that could help Everton build for a promising future. Dibling and Tyrique George have long been friends, having grown through the England set-up together. The hope when George arrived on loan from Chelsea, where Dibling also spent some time in his teenage years before returning to Southampton, was that having a friend in the camp might enable a quiet personality to come out of his shell.
While that did not appear to happen last season - at least to the point where Dibling made a case for the first team - the permanent addition of George in the summer may have given their relationship stronger foundations. Throw in another starlet, Harrison Armstrong, and together the players make a strong friendship unit that appears to be helping all three.
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BOURNEMOUTH, ENGLAND - AUGUST 29: Everton's James Tarkowski (centre) celebrates scoring his side's equalising goal to make the score 1-1 during the Premier League 2026/27 match between AFC Bournemouth and Everton at Vitality Stadium on August 29, 2026 in Bournemouth, England. (Photo by David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images)
James Tarkowski (centre) celebrates his dramatic equaliser for Everton at Bournemouth (David Horton - CameraSport via Getty Images)
Dibling and Armstrong have forged a close relationship since Armstrong returned from Preston North End on loan in January. Their closeness was exemplified recently when, clearly having spotted a bond worth covering, Everton’s media team asked Dibling and Armstrong to answer questions about each other in a Mastermind-style quiz. Both reached double figures, getting the vast majority of questions - which ranged from favourite holiday destinations to preferred ‘cheat’ foods - correct.
All three are having excellent starts to the season, with George having scored his first Blues goal, a stunning effort against Manchester United, and Armstrong having started every Premier League match in the heart of Moyes’ midfield.
The signs were there in the summer. After his sumptuous strike in the friendly win over Newcastle United in August, George highlighted his work with Dibling. He said: “We are training a lot, trying to do well, trying to push each other and we want to keep that going.”
And on his friendship with Armstrong, he smiled as he added: “He is a top player and a top person as well, a funny guy. He’s a good person, he’s nice.”
Together, the three appear to be helping each other to emerge from the fringe players they were at the end of last season to leading lights in Moyes’ team.
And with Armstrong having been called up to the England U20s this month it should not be long before the three are travelling the world with the U21s, where Dibling and George already compete and where a promotion for their friend cannot be far off.
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