Sean Dyche taps into Dele Alli's tactical wisdom as forward rehabilitates at Everton

Alli, who opened up about his mental-health struggles earlier this year, has not played for Everton in over a year, with a spell on loan at Besiktas last season cut short by injury.

The 27-year-old is still working his way back to fitness from a muscle problem and spent time in rehab in the United States during the summer after speaking out about the issues which had stemmed from a traumatic childhood and a subsequent addiction to sleeping pills.

The 37-cap England player, a two-time PFA young player of the year, is not yet ready to feature on the pitch, but he has still been making a contribution behind the scenes after a canteen coffee with Dyche.

"I wanted to try and keep him involved," Dyche said ahead of Saturday's trip to Crystal Palace. "I think he's in a good place as a person. I like the fact he absorbs it.

"He's had some amazing experiences don't forget – people sometimes do forget that – for still a relatively young player.

"I was just chatting to him about it because I want to keep him involved in what we're trying to do as a group because it's hard when you're out for that long, it clearly is, and he's been through a lot in that period as well."

Dyche said Alli had taken on board some of the ideas about direct play, and helped others in the quad to understand them.

"It was just a conversation I had with him and he brought something up I thought was really important and shared it with the players," Dyche said.

"We were having an honest conversation and he described it really well, this idea of direct play, people pre-suppose that means kicking the ball down the pitch – no it doesn't – and he was on it straight away.

"He said, 'I get exactly what you mean. Can you play forwards as a first thought?'.

"He said, 'Maybe the players need a bit more correcting with that?'. So I told the players of the conversation.

"I will try and be open with the players. I want to know their feedback and for them to let us know if they're not understanding something.

"I'm more than happy for them to question things and ask the whys and wherefores. He did that in a very good manner and I thought it was important to share it and share the belief I have in all the players when they do feedbacks, I do listen."

 

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