"I just want to be happy playing football. Working with [Frank] Lampard, and the great players Everton have got, is a great opportunity for me to do that. I'm excited to go there, show the fans what I can do, and help the club as much as I can."
Those were some of Dele Alli's first words after his transfer deadline day move to the Blues. It was a transfer that came amid a day of upheaval at Everton - a day in which Lampard was appointed the new manager and Donny van de Beek joined on loan from Manchester United.
Just under seven months later, Dele is on his way to play in the Turkish Super Lig with Besiktas. Whether he found any happiness on Merseyside is unclear. Had he displayed the full extent of his undeniable quality his departure would not have been sanctioned. But he did help the club in its hour of need. His time as a Blue cannot be deemed a success but, as his exit is discussed, debated and dissected, that should be recognised.
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Goodison Park was shell-shocked at half-time against Crystal Palace in the penultimate game of last season. Two goals down when defeat was unthinkable, it looked as though the fight against relegation would have to be taken to the Emirates three days later against an Arsenal side that retained a chance, albeit slim, of Champions League qualification.
Despite the peril facing Everton the interval was marked with applause - a reaction sparked by the sight of Dele being sent straight onto the pitch to warm up. It was a signal of intent that sent the message around L4 that Lampard, who minutes earlier had changed to a more attacking formation, was going to make another positive move.
One of the most dramatic hours in the club's modern history then passed and the pitch was flooded with jubilant fans celebrating one of Everton's most important comebacks. And Dele had played a key role. He won the free-kick from which Michael Keane scored the Blues' first then it was his blocked shot that fell into the path of Richarlison for the equaliser. He was lurking on the edge of the area when Dominic Calvert-Lewin's thumping diving header sealed survival and was in the middle of the gaggle of topless players looking up to the directors box as Lampard orchestrated celebrations over the escape.
Reflecting on his half-time decision to bring Dele into the action, Lampard later said: "It is so hard to tell players when you are an ex-player - sometimes, just stay in the game, train and do the right thing. To be fair to him he has and he affected the game hugely."
There were other moments too - it was Dele who muscled Timothy Castagne off a bouncing ball before crossing for Richarlison's crucial late equaliser in the home game against Leicester City.
Ultimately, though, these were just fleeting glimpses of a player who had previously helped take Tottenham Hotspur to a Champions League final and England to a World Cup semi-final.
His performance in the Palace game had produced hope Dele was in the process of rejuvenating a career that had stalled at Spurs, where former boss Jose Mourinho had once asked him to demand more from himself or risk regretting not reaching his potential. The hope continued into the summer. He missed a glaring chance in the friendly defeat to Minnesota United but did so after breaking into the box to get into a dangerous position. The end product was not there but the positive intent and his ability to read the game was.
Days later, in Blackpool, he scored twice and appeared to be making progress. After that game, Lampard said: "They are goals I want to see from him. It was a trademark of his as he broke through at Tottenham for a number of seasons, and we all know what has happened in between, but if he is going to get back to the best of what we want from him he has to arrive into those areas and score those kind of goals. He also has to work on his general play and be part of the team and understand what we are trying to do. I saw some good things there."
Sadly, that hope quickly evaporated. The writing appeared to be on the wall when the line-up for the first game of the season was announced. At 4.30pm on August 6, it was revealed Dele was on the bench. In a squad in which the only two recognised strikers were unavailable, the player who appeared to be the most obvious solution, tipped by many as Everton's best option as a 'false nine', was not in the starting eleven. The Blues laboured in front of goal against Chelsea but at Villa Park, even after Salomon Rondon was named a substitute as he returned from suspension, Lampard stuck with the front three that had struggled seven days earlier. Dele was once again on the bench.
Besiktas' interest in securing his services came as a surprise but Everton's willingness to allow Dele a route out of the club was not. The structure of the deal that brought him to Everton on the final day of the last transfer window, an arrangement in which he would only start to command a fee after playing 20 times for the Blues, afforded Lampard a low-risk opportunity to see whether he could revive Dele's career. Heading into the final stages of this transfer window one of the big questions was how willing the club was to persevere with - and potentially start spending millions of pounds in fees on - a player who was earning around £100,000-a-week but, even in the middle of an attacking selection crisis, was not making the starting line up. That question has now been answered.
The mystery - the underlying reasons for Dele's struggles - remain unknown, publicly at least. Lampard has always refused to be drawn on the issue. One theme of his responses is the need for Dele to work hard in training - though this may simply be his go-to answer when asked about the topic. Speaking earlier this season, when asked whether he was aware of any factors behind Dele's fall down the pecking order at Spurs, he said: "I didn’t know Dele personally [when he was signed]. I think everyone was aware of the curve of his career and that was something you take into account. The talent of the player, the opportunity to bring him here... it was an opportunity to get him into the club to help us and at the minute we are trying to find that performance for him. He needs to keep working. The only thing I know for sure is that hard work correlates on the pitch."
Asked whether he would be disappointed should Dele leave, Lampard added: "In my job you have to have the football side and the human side. I like Dele and I want to help him. The main thing I want to do is be a support for the players."
Dele's journey will now continue elsewhere. One thing is certain, as shown by the incredible reception he received upon his arrival in Turkey, he has found another destination where there is a genuine desire for him to fulfil his potential. Whether the answers that could not be found on Merseyside can be found in Istanbul remains to be seen.
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