As Tottenham Hotspur step up their efforts to tie up a deal for an exciting Premier League winger, the player’s former manager has now made a huge claim about him ahead of the summer transfer window.
It looks clear that Tyler Dibling is set to be one of the most sought-after players of the summer transfer window, now that Southampton’s relegation to the Championship has been confirmed.
Over recent weeks a number of outlets have claimed that Tottenham have already held talks with Dibling, who is alleged to be the Lilywhites’ top summer target.
The 19-year-old is thought to be attracting a lot of interest from across the Premier League, but some sources have suggested that Daniel Levy has made it his personal mission to win the race for Dibling.
Russell Martin makes a big Dibling claim
Former Southampton boss Russell Martin, the man under whom Dibling established himself as a regular fixture in the Saints side, has now waxed lyrical about the teenager.
The British coach, who parted ways with the South Coast club back in December of last year, insisted that the rumoured Tottenham Hotspur target is the best young player he has ever worked with, even better than a young James Maddison or Harry Kane.
Gary Lineker asked Martin on The Rest is Football Podcast: “Of the Southampton players that you had, I think there’s a lot of talk and a lot of interest around Tyler Dibling. How good can he be?”
Martin responded: “He’s so hard on it because when I was there, I had to balance, not give him too much, try and play it down a lot. And I don’t want to make things more difficult for him, but he’s the most talented player I’ve ever seen.”
Lineker replied: “You’ve ever seen or you’ve worked with?”
Martin then added: “Yeah, so seen live, seen on the training pitch. So I worked with James Maddison at that age at Norwich. He was outstanding. And Tyler has every capability to go and play for England and at a top level for a very long time, because he’s powerful, he’s really quick. Both feet can shoot, no bang bang. I worked with Harry Kane at 21 when he came to Norwich on loan as well.
“Physically, the stuff I’ve seen him do at 18 in the Premier League, people just bouncing off him and being put on the floor when he dribbles with a ball. He has something I’ve not seen in a British player for a long time.”
Tottenham are hoping to bring down Tyler Dibling asking price
It appears that the Saints are set to play hardball over the winger as it was reported last week that Southampton had put a £100m price tag on Dibling.
However, a few days ago, it was claimed by Football Insider that Tottenham remain hopeful of bringing Dibling’s price to around £50m or £60m, given that the youngster has just two years left on his contract.
Being told that Dibling looks even better than James Maddison or Harry Kane at that age could be enough to get Tottenham fans suitably excited, either way.