Tyler Dibling will be pinching himself after scoring his first senior goal for Southampton against Ipswich Town on Saturday.
18-year-old Tyler Dibling was initially expected to leave Southampton on loan this summer before a number of impressive performances in pre-season convinced Russell Martin to keep him with the first-team.
Dibling did not see his fine summer rewarded with a place in the Southampton starting XI to start the season but looked bright in each of his cameos off the bench, as well as providing two assists when starting against Cardiff City in the Carabao Cup.
With Southampton starting the season poorly, Martin decided to throw Dibling in for his first Premier League start against Manchester United where he captured the attention of all who watched despite the Saints losing 3-0.
This saw Martin again trust the teenager with a start in the crucial match against Ipswich on Saturday and Dibling repaid his manager’s faith with a goal after just five minutes before a 95th-minute equaliser meant the game finished 1-1.
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Tyler Dibling ‘very happy’ at Southampton amid transfer speculation
Dibling has been on the radar of a number of clubs for a while now due to his performances at youth level but the ease at which he has made the jump to senior football in the Premier League will have put a host of clubs on red alert.
Southampton are keen to tie the attacking midfielder down to an improved contract to put off any interested parties or at least ensure they get maximum value should they be put in a position where a sale is necessary.
Southampton FC News can exclusively reveal that the interest in Dibling is massive, but it is not new as more than a dozen Premier League sides have been following him, including Manchester United, Liverpool and Newcastle United just to name a few.
Southampton sources say Dibling himself is very happy playing at Southampton at the moment and is enjoying working under Martin and the club think he will sign a new deal. What happens beyond this season remains to be seen, though.
However, the trend at the moment for the bigger teams is to try and land these young talents as soon as they can so this interest is not expected to go away.
Southampton must stay in Premier League to have any hope of keeping Dibling
Dibling has shown in his two Premier League starts that he is not just comfortable playing at this level but can excel.
The calmness with which he took his goal in such a high pressure match against Ipswich was that of a seasoned centre-forward and not an 18-year-old midfielder making his second senior start.
It already looks as though Dibling could be key to Southampton’s chances of staying in the Premier League and the irony is that if they fall short then they are all but guaranteed to have to sell the prodigious young star.
Martin will be keen to protect Dibling from the spotlight but if his progress continues at the current rate then it will be hard for anyone else to take their share of the attention at Southampton.