What Sean Dyche said about Iliman Ndiaye role at Everton after press conference cameras stopped

Sean Dyche has always been aware of the chorus of voices urging him to play Iliman Ndiaye in a central attacking role. He has had no shortage of suggestions the summer signing could be the solution to Everton’s creative issues and claims to have been told the 24-year-old could not be turned into a Premier League winger.

Dyche believes he has proved those people wrong. But the debate over where the Blues’ most exciting outlet should feature continues to rage and has only intensified as the season - and Everton’s struggle for goals - has gone on.

It entered a new dimension when, at his pre-Brentford press conference, he said out loud there was “no evidence” to back up the suggestion Ndiaye could play as a number 10 - causing social media to erupt in disagreement.

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It is an issue the ECHO has asked Dyche about on several occasions - and did so again when my turn came up in the off-camera section of the press conference on Thursday.

So, where does Dyche stand on Ndiaye, what was the thinking behind his signing, and what is the plan for him at the Blues? .

For Dyche, there are several strands of thought that supplement his approach to the Senegal international. They - perhaps unsurprisingly - include a focus on his lack of Premier League experience, an asset Dyche places heavy emphasis on. Ndiaye had played just once in the top flight, for Sheffield United, before this season and while he has significant experience for Senegal, in the French top division with Marseille, and in the Championship, Dyche sees the Premier League as an entirely different level.

As a result, much of the emphasis appears to be on building Ndiaye’s Premier League experience and judging him not on his flashes of brilliance but on his consistency - what he is doing on a tough day.

For Dyche, Ndiaye has endured difficult games recently and it is clear he views at least some of this as being down to the player’s battle to acclimatise to the demands of the league rather than, what critics of his approach might argue, is providing opponents the chance to trap him against the touchline by playing him on the left - something Kenny Tete and Kyle Walker-Peters, of Fulham and Southampton respectively, have had success at doing.

Dyche very much sees Ndiaye as a young player and is placing a significant focus on trying to help his development.

The Everton manager said this week: “He is learning to work hard in the Premier League, where his role is a bit more two-way when at Marseille, where he was a bit more attacking. Here you have to do a double shift and he is learning that.

“He has goals and trickery and I think he is showing all of that, now it is about finding Premier League consistency because in the last couple of games he has been quiet. That is what the Premier League is, finding that level… that is where his journey is, bringing that level of consistency where a quiet day [for him] is still a good team day.

“I speak to players all of the time and Ili is another one. If it's not your day to be ‘the’ person then make sure that you're doing the team role and that is what helps the big players to be the really big players.

“Trust me, I speak to managers and they say their best players are the ones that on a quiet day are still decent and they still do the things the team need, and that brings the consistency. I think that is where he is at in his journey. He is a very talented player. We can all see that. But it is about learning that when he's having quiet spells or a quiet game he can still do the right things for how the team operates and then work for the moment when he can use his talent.”

Dyche has repeatedly said he is aware of the clamour for Ndiaye to be played in a central role, particularly as a number 10. Yet he sees a friction between what that role entailed a decade or so ago, when to him it was a job of real freedom, to right now. At this moment he sees the number 10 role as being one that is heavy on defensive responsibility. And while Ndiaye is learning to adapt to the Premier League, it appears there is a reluctance to place that much pressure on a player he believes is on a learning curve.

His comments highlight why he initially turned to Abdoulaye Doucoure to be Everton’s third central midfielder and key pillar of support for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, a role Doucoure played so effectively across Dyche’s first year. Doucoure excelled - key moments including his goals against Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth - because he had the energy and dynamism to almost cover two roles alone.

Hamstring injuries and a need to find more solidity and stability in deeper lying roles have since curtailed Doucoure’s usage in that position and replacing him has been one of the problems that remains unsolved.

Could Ndiaye fill that role? This is Dyche’s explanation over how he sees the demands of the number 10 position and what he wants from the player he selects there.

Explaining his thoughts this week, he said: “In the Premier League, playing as a number 10 is a very defensive minded role, now. It wasn't 10 years ago, it was almost like, ‘we will play a number 10 and they will just wait for us to do the job’.

“Speak to all managers now, if you ask them they will say a number 10 is not just standing there, a number 10 is getting into the passing lanes, breaking up the play, working off the bits like when the centre-half heads it, being alive, working in transition, driving in the box, coming out the box, getting between the two centre midfield players and getting the ball, linking the play. There's a lot going on with a modern number ten.”

Dyche’s usage of Ndiaye begs the question of what role was envisioned for him when Everton agreed to a deal in the region of £15m for a player they had wanted to sign, but were unable to, 12 months earlier. The consensus outside the club was he would adopt the central role he had been so impressive in when 14 goals and four assists saw him light up the Championship two years ago to help Sheffield United achieve promotion.

He played almost the entirety of his most impressive campaign in central roles - whether as a number 10, support striker or forward. It was this season that many pointed to amid the concern that greeted his comments on Thursday - there is evidence, this and for Senegal, that he can be effective in the middle. Indeed, I had plenty of Blades fans chime into my notifications as they joined Blues in questioning Dyche’s claim.

Had he added the caveat he believed there was no evidence Ndiaye could play as a Premier League number 10 he perhaps may have sparked less of a reaction. Even then, he would have created frustration.

Asked what the plan was when Everton moved for Ndiaye, Dyche suggested the hope was to develop the talent the player clearly has rather than sign him with a specific role in mind. Key to his thought process is last season in France, where Ndiaye struggled. Across 46 games for Marseille he was involved in nine goals and averaged just over 50 minutes per game, much of split between central and wide positions, according to Transfermarkt.

On the thoughts behind signing Ndiaye, Dyche said: “First of all, [the plan was] developing him, because he is a young-ish player. He did not play consistently at Marseille, he was in and out and had spells, sometimes coming from out wide, sometimes on the inside of a three when they are a bit higher and stuff like that.”

Dyche said his approach has been influenced by conversations with coaches who have worked with Ndiaye in the past, including Chris Wilder. Whether the long-term ambition is to move Ndiaye inside remains to be seen. Dyche’s emphatic response to that potential was controversial but if the plan is to build his Premier League experience in a position where he is under less pressure before unleashing him in a central role, then he would perhaps have engendered more understanding from supporters frustrated by his use so far.

The big question is what happens if Everton continue to struggle going forward. The Blues have just 10 goals from 11 league games so far and Calvert-Lewin has looked increasingly isolated going forward.

Dyche has suggested he is willing to be flexible but his public exploration of Ndiaye has only gone one way so far - he has given plenty of reasons why he thinks Ndiaye is not yet suited to a central role, but the longer Everton stutter in attack the fewer reasons there will be not to try something different. And maybe, as many have suggested, his struggles against Fulham and Southampton, and at Marseille, were because he was played out wide and had his creativity stunted.

It is interesting to pay attention to Ndiaye’s own thoughts on how he can help Everton. When signing for the club in July he said: “As a player, I like to dribble, show skills and get the fans out their seats. I want to score goals and get assists but I also like to work hard. I love running, chasing the ball, getting the team high up the pitch. As a striker, you're the first defender. I love doing that bit.”

Ndiaye therefore appears to have an awareness of what is required from a central attacking role and few could argue that the Blues, right now, are finding it difficult to get up the pitch - something he believes he can help with.

At the time Dyche highlighted Ndiaye’s “versatility” and director of football Kevin Thelwell suggested he could add another “dimension” to the Blues attack.

Yet that versatility is yet to be utilised and right now it is clear Dyche currently believes Ndiaye is best out wide - a view emboldened by his standout display from that position before events went horribly wrong after his withdrawal against Bournemouth and his goals against Ipswich Town and Leicester City.

The Blues boss believes he has proved Ndiaye can operate on the flanks against the calls to play him in the middle. He has expressed an intention to be ‘flexible’ though - and thinks his handling of Ndiaye to date is evidence of that. He explained back in October: “We try and look at players with as much flexibility as we can. When Iliman got here everyone was telling me he must play in the number 10. I think we are finding he can play and operate where he is doing and I think he is doing a very good job at it so far. Not every player lives in a certain role.”

The context Dyche is operating in is also inescapable in any debate about his tactics. Everton once again find themselves in a tough run of form and under pressure that can be a hurdle to what Dyche clearly believes would be an experimental move to play Ndiaye in the middle.

On the other hand, a lack of adventure going forward may have been a factor in the failure to take more points from the games so far. Dyche does not see it that way, however. He concluded this week: “I think that's his learning curve. It's not just a case of just throwing him in at a number 10. It is not as easy as that. I wish it was.”