West Ham United FC v Southampton FC - Premier League
Tyler Dibling has caught the attention of plenty of clubs (Picture: Getty Images)
A surprise contender has emerged in the race to sign Southampton winger Tyler Dibling this summer, with the youngster attracting interest from abroad.
It was a disastrous season int he Premier League for the Saints last time round, but Dibling was one of the very few bright sparks.
Still just 19 years old, the England Under-21 international caught the eye, scoring four goals in 38 appearances across all competitions.
Manchester United and Chelsea have been credited with an interest in the teenager, as have the likes of Tottenham and Bayern Munich.
There has not appeared to be much movement, despite that level of interest, and a new challenger has emerged.
Portuguese publication Record report that Porto have been impressed by the youngster and are exploring a way of making a deal happen.
That will be far from easy for them to do given the enormous asking price Southampton have suggested for Dibling, with the Telegraph reporting that earlier this year that the Saints have quoted an enormous £100m for their star player.
Crystal Palace FC v Southampton FC - Premier League
Dibling was one of the very few impressive parts of Southampton’s last season (Picture: Getty Images)
That would be extremely ambitious for the now Championship club, but even if they cannot seriously expect £100m for Dibling, they will want a lot of money.
Porto are reportedly exploring swap deals or loan arrangements as ways of getting an unlikely deal done.
The winger is under contract at St Mary’s until 2027 and has not sounded in a rush to leave Southampton in the near future.
‘I don’t try to think about it and just try and go into train every day and work hard and train the best I can,’ he said earlier this year when asked about transfer speculation.
Holland U21 v England U21 -U21 Men
Dibling has been capped up to Under-21 level for England (Picture: Getty Images)
‘At the end of the day, I love Southampton. I have been here since I was eight. It’s such a great team and I am working to do big things with them.’
Dibling has come with rave reviews from Southampton, with his game boasting far much more than his basic goal-scoring stats suggest.
Former Southampton Under-21 head coach Adam Asghar told BBC Sport of the teenager: ‘He’s the most fearless player I’ve ever worked with.
‘He’s totally unique to anything I’ve seen before. He’s got raw physicality, pace and power, is an unbelievable ball-carrier and is always impacting games.
Russell Martin on Tyler Dibling
Former Southampton manager Russell Martin told The Rest is Football of Tyler Dibling…
‘He’s the most talented player I’ve ever seen – ever worked with. I worked with James Maddison at that age at Norwich, he was outstanding.
‘Tyler has every capability to go and play for England and at a top level for a very long time.
‘He’s powerful, he’s really quick, both feet, can shoot. I worked with Harry Kane and physically the stuff I’ve seen him do at 18 in the Premier League with people just bouncing off him – he has something I’ve not seen in a British player in a long time.
‘He’ll play as a No.8 or a No.10 eventually, but he’s 18 so we played him out wide and he was incredible.
‘He can play wide, we played him as a false nine in pre-season and he was our best player.’
‘In a generation of football where it’s very much about limited touches and moving the ball quickly Tyler can move it as quickly by carrying the ball rather than passing it and that’s what makes him such a special talent.
‘Every game (with the Under-21s) he would always have four or five moments that would almost take your breath away.
‘He is really sure of his ability. He wouldn’t be fazed by the opponent or situation, he played with fearlessness.’
When Dibling was first linked with Manchester United in December, there was a suggestion the Red Devils were planning to bid £21m for him in January.
Russell Martin, who was in charge of Saints at the time, said: ‘I was told about some rumours of Manchester United wanting to bid £21m. I’m not sure they’d get his left foot for that.’
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