'Exciting' prospect Dibling is bigger version of Jack

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

- By CHRIS BEESLEY

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 homegrown talent, what makes him such a special player?

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.”

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?