Dele says his union with Everton is a “perfect match” and the midfielder is vowing to “fight for the team and the Club”.
Manager Frank Lampard completed a deal to make Dele his first permanent signing hours after taking charge at Goodison Park on transfer deadline day this week.
The presence of Lampard was a persuasive factor for Dele, who insists he has an “amazing opportunity” to learn and improve” under one of the game’s sharpest minds.
Another decisive factor in choosing Everton, said Dele, was the evident desire of majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri and Chairman Bill Kenwright to bring the 25-year-old to the Club.
Add the “very passionate” Evertonians to “feeling wanted” and, Dele insists, all the pieces are in place to deliver “excitement” and goals for his new team.
“It is a perfect match and I can’t wait to get going,” Dele told evertontv.
“Speaking to the owners and manager and some of the players… we are heading in the same direction, we want to look forward, and that is how I am as a person.
“I don’t ever think anything is enough.
“You want to achieve as much as you can, score as many goals and get as many wins as you can.
“To keep building and heading in the right direction.
“It’s what the Club wants and what I want, too.
“Frank is an amazing manager and an amazing person.
“He knows me very well as a player, I know him and his tactics and how he likes his teams to work.
“I can learn so much from him. He scored a lot of goals from midfield, I will speak to him about that and the way he fought on the pitch and what he did to make the most of his talent.
“The owner and Chairman were the first people I spoke to. I felt very comfortable and confident and wanted.
“As a player, the main thing is to feel wanted.
“Especially as an attacking and creative player, you want to know you can express yourself and bring excitement to the game, with and without the ball.
“That’s what I want to do and the kind of player I am.
“I am very ambitious and passionate, so feeling that from the owner and manager drives you on to want to do well for not only them but the whole club.
“I know how much it means to the fans, here, and the team and I want to help as much as I can.”
Dele comes to Everton following seven years with Tottenham Hotspur where he scored 51 Premier League goals and was twice named PFA Young Player of the Year.
He has 37 England caps and was a fixture at major tournaments in 2016 and 2018.
Prior to an integral role in the Three Lions’ run to the semi-finals of the Russian World Cup, Dele scored 14 goals and provided 17 assists in 50 matches in 2017/18.
He returned from the tournament to aid Spurs passage to the 2019 Champions League final.
Now, insists Dele, the player’s eyes are fixed firmly on the future and utilising a “great platform” to reach his soaring potential.
“Working with Frank and the amazing players here, it’s a very attacking way of playing football, that’s what I like to do, to be on the front foot, win tackles, get in the box and score goals,” said Dele.
“It is an easy place to be happy and an amazing opportunity to come and work hard and be on the pitch and help the team.
“That’s what I want to do all the time.
“I want to play and fight for the team and the Club and I am ready to do that.
“The whole thing about being a player is learning and improving and being the best you possibly can.
“Having all this… amazing teammates, a great manager and very passionate fans, it is a great platform to express yourself and do well.
“I am very passionate when I am playing.
“It brings the best out of me when I play with aggression and on the front foot.
“Playing against Everton and at Goodison Park, I have seen that’s how the fans are – very passionate. They are incredible.
“It is not easy when you are on the opposite side but now we are working together I am sure we [Dele and supporters] will be a great team.”
