Southampton are holding out for a better offer from Everton for their young midfielder Tyler Dibling, as their initial bid of £27million plus add-ons was rejected. The Saints value Dibling at over £40million, and they're not backing down.
Mateus Fernandes also in demand
Dibling's teammate, Mateus Fernandes, is also catching the eye of several clubs, including West Ham. Neither player was involved in Southampton's final pre-season friendly on Saturday, but Fernandes' absence was due to illness, according to the club.
Will Still's take on the transfer rumours
Southampton's manager, Will Still, spoke to BBC Radio Solent about Dibling's future after the match. He said, "If you know Ty, he doesn't really get that bothered by things, he's not really affected. He played really well in the first 60-minute game this morning."
Still also mentioned that Dibling has been struggling with a few niggles and didn't travel with the team to Spain. He trained this week and played for 60 minutes in a behind-closed-doors match against Brighton earlier on Saturday.
When asked if Dibling would be leaving, Still replied, "I've no idea. I think the club have set a price. We've got good players and there is interest for good players, which is normal."
Fernandes' situation
Regarding Fernandes, Still said, "There's noise around him, but he's a good player. He's shown his quality over the past year, and there is interest – we can't lie about that. But Matty hasn't been very well and wasn't in the building the last three days and wasn't here today. It's as simple as that."
Dibling has two years left on his Southampton contract after breaking into the team during their disastrous relegation campaign last season. The England Under-21 international scored twice in 33 Premier League appearances.
Fernandes joined Southampton from Sporting Lisbon just 12 months ago and scored two goals and provided four assists in the league during his first season in England.
Despite the efforts of Dibling and Fernandes, Southampton finished bottom of the Premier League table with a measly 12 points. New manager Will Still will lead the team in their Championship opener against newly-promoted Wrexham on August 9.
