Saints youngster Tyler Dibling is being linked with a move away from St Mary's, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur & even Manchester United, Chelsea & Bayen Munich have all been linked, but latest stories in the media suggest that Saints are in no mood to let him go cheaply.
Tyler Dibling is a very grounded young man and so are his parents judging by the decision they took just 3 years ago, when they asked Chelsea to release Dibling from his earlier decision to join the Stamford Bridge club so that he could return to Southampton, as they felt that his career path would be better followed with that route, where he would have a realistic chance of getting into the first team.
It is believed that Tyler Dibling has wanted to sign a new deal at St Mary's for the past few months, but has been prevented from doing so by his agents.
Saints weren't seeking to extend his contract, merely to increase his wages, his current deal expires in July 2026, but has an option for an extra year if Saints should wish to do so, so effectively he is tied to the club until the summer of 2027.
Therefore with the new deal unsigned and his agents playing hardball, it seems Southampton are now preparing to play hardball themselves in the summer as his German agents push to get him signed up for a big club and therefore earning them a big commission.
That is according to express.co.uk who are reporting that Southampton have named their price and it is £100 million.
That is some fee and I would be surprised if Saints could achieve it, but it is a good starting price to work from for a club who have a player with two years still left on his contract.
At the moment it seems that his agents are briefing the media to link him with every big club in the UK & Europe to try and get him a move that will make them money, but that could well backfire given Dibling & his parents stance on putting his career first and making money second.
That is an alien concept to most football agents and indeed young talents, Tyler will perhaps look at Jimmy Jay Morgan who left Saints in the summer of 2022 alongside him, both with the promise of a guaranteed professional contract at the age of 17.
Dibling decided Chelsea was not the best for him, even with the guaranteed contract while Morgan preferred the money route to the bank with Chelsea.
Now Morgan has joined Gillingham in League two on loan and he is struggling to get a game there, out of 13 possible games, he has started just 7 with another 4 off the bench, he has scored just once , that a late consolation in a 3-1 defeat at Newport County in front of just 3,396 people.
So the summer could be pretty interesting for Saints and in many way they are in a no lose situation, if Tyler Dibling opts to stay or our valuation, albeit a more realistic one is reached and he leaves, we will still be in a strong position to challenge for promotion.