Southampton have reportedly rejected an opening offer of £27 million ($35.5 million) from Everton for their young starlet Tyler Dibling, although are thought to have dramatically lowered their demands since slipping into the Championship.
Dibling elbowed his way into the public sphere with a prodigious start to his debut Premier League campaign. On his first top-flight start last September, Southampton’s left-footed playmaker enjoyed an eye-catching display against Manchester United, winning an early penalty and tormenting Diogo Dalot throughout.
The following weekend, he scored his first senior goal against Ipswich Town. The teen was quickly linked to United, with talk of a £21 million ($27.6 million) offer being floated in January. When those reports were put to then-Saints boss Russell Martin, he laughed: “I’m not sure you’ll get his left foot for that.”
Everton put a lowly valuation on the rest of Dibling with a £27 million bid which Southampton swiftly rejected, as first reported by The Times.
The relegated south coast club were thought to be demanding as much as £100 million ($131.6 million) for their homegrown starlet. That valuation has supposedly plummeted over the subsequent months, with The Times claiming that Everton are confident a £35 million ($46 million) offer will be successful. Sky Sports News suggest that Southampton now value Dibling at £40 million ($52.6 million).
Dibling is described as being willing to relocate this summer. The Exeter-born winger first joined Southampton’s academy in 2012 before getting snapped up by Chelsea 10 years later. Dibling’s west London adventure lasted a grand total of 34 days. “I’ve a made a mistake. I don’t enjoy it,” he told Jeremy Newton, his academy coach at Southampton, after playing for Chelsea’s U18s against the Saints with less than a week of the same summer 2022 transfer window remaining. Everton will be hoping that this deal sticks.
Chelsea are one of the clubs that have also been credited with interest in Dibling since his emergence on the senior stage, alongside the likes of Aston Villa, Tottenham Hotspur and RB Leipzig.
After that blistering start to his top-flight career, Dibling faded. In his 14 league appearances immediately after scoring against Ipswich, the fleet-footed forward racked up more yellow cards (five) than shots on target (four). By the end of a grim campaign which ended in a historically early relegation for Southampton, Dibling struggled to get a start.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Tyler Dibling: Southampton ‘Reject’ Bid for Man Utd, Chelsea Target, Asking Price Set.
