What Tyler Dibling really thinks of big transfer as Everton close to major deal

What Tyler Dibling really thinks of big transfer as Everton close to major deal

Alfie House, Senior Southampton FC reporter for the Southern Daily Echo, provides the inside track on Tyler Dibling with Everton closing in on making him their biggest transfer signing of the summer

Tyler Dibling of Southampton

Tyler Dibling is a “younger but bigger Jack Grealish” who is “excited” at the prospect of making his big transfer to Everton.

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That’s the verdict of Alfie House, Senior Southampton FC reporter for the Southern Daily Echo who has delivered the inside track on the Saints wonderkid who is now set to become the Blues’ biggest purchase of the summer. With Dibling understood to be on the verge of breaking Southampton’s club record for a transfer fee from a home-grown talent, what makes him such a special player?

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House told the ECHO: “A record sale for an academy graduate from an academy like Southampton is pretty good going! Technically he’s second to very few, and he’s a bit of a throwback in his fearlessness and his determination to do things his way, whether it’s low socks, shin pads, the size of my fingernail or how he walks and waits for the game to move around him but then comes alive with the ball at his feet. In the right conditions, with a bit of belief in him, he can be a game-changer. He’s also a big lad who is tall and strong.”

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With last season’s loan pair Jack Harrison and Jesper Lindstrom having returned to parent clubs Leeds United and Napoli respectively after making underwhelming contributions in 2024/25, a right winger has been a priority for Everton all summer. While Dibling would be seen as filling that gap, Russell Martin, his ex-manager at St Mary’s who is now in charge at Rangers, said in an interview with Gary Lineker in April that he saw his former charge as eventually operating in the number eight or 10 roles, so what does House think?

He said: “Dibling has also been a number 10 as a youngster in the academy and I also agree with Russell Martin that this is where he’ll end up being most effective. Eventually, he will become the player that fills the space between opposition midfield and defence and spots the pass to break the lines with runners ahead of him.

“But right now he’s similar to Jack Grealish in that his best attribute at the men’s level is beating a player one-on-one with a quick shimmy, so I think he’s likely to continue playing on the wing for a while as a young lad.”

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Martin also went as far as proclaiming that Dibling was the best player he had ever worked with and that “he has something I’ve not seen in a British player in a long time.” Given that the 19-year-old has only turned out in 1874 minutes of Premier League football (the equivalent of less than 21 full matches) at this fledgling stage of his career, does he deserve such hyperbole?

House said: “It’s hard to say he’s living up to hype because he’s only played a few dozen times and during the second half of last season, he really struggled following changes in the manager’s office and subsequent changes in the tactical demands on the pitch.

“He needs to improve the defensive awareness side of his game and he has made one or two mistakes leading to goals by not being fully switched on or reacting quick enough to something in his own half. But it’s his talent with the ball at his feet that led Martin to make that comment, although he regularly says things that are over the top and his only previous clubs were Swansea and MK Dons.”

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Dibling will remain a teenager until February 17 next year, so what kind of character does the Exeter-born prospect possess as he prepares to swap the south coast for Merseyside? House said: “He’s very similar on and off the pitch. Shy, quiet, relaxed but extremely confident.

“Tyler knows he’s a good player and he’s not afraid to say it. He’s not a bragger and he also knows what he’s not so good at, but if you ask him to name his strengths, he’ll tell you exactly what they are with a grin on his face.

“I’ve always found him quite endearing, and he’s extremely polite. This will be a big step for him but from what I know he’s excited to make the move up to the North West, so hopefully it works out for him.”

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In terms of a base payment, Dibling could be second only to Everton’s record signing Gylfi Sigurdsson but David Moyes is the manager who worked with Wayne Rooney during his spectacular breakthrough with the Blues while also signing the likes of Leighton Baines, Joleon Lescott and Phil Jagielka and developing them into England internationals during his first spell in charge at Goodison Park, so does House believe the move would be good for unleashing Dibling’s full potential?

He said: “I think it’s a brilliant deal for all three parties. Saints get good money for a lad they’ve developed, Everton get a good player and Tyler gets a move to a brilliant club with one of the best managers in the league.

“David Moyes has a record of improving clubs – they get worse when he leaves, West Ham are a shambles – and he improves players too. Academy staff at Saints agree with that.

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“It will be interesting to see what sort of tactical demands Moyes puts on Dibling because Martin really felt he had to be free, but it’s also good that Everton have starting players for him to act as an understudy to initially to take the pressure off. Plus, he’s kind of a younger but bigger Jack Grealish, so watching the real one in training might be great for him.”

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