"I keep hearing" - Update dropped as Spurs push to sign Southampton FC star | OneFootball

Spurs may look to invest heavily in Championship talent once again.

Tottenham Hotspur feel that Tyler Dibling would want to join them should they submit a bid for the Southampton starlet, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

The hope at St Mary's is that they will be able to reach another summer of nine-figure sales, emulating the last time they were relegated to the Championship, and that's just from their top English commodities.

It had been reported that they valued Dibling, 19, who has been linked with a number of the Premier League's biggest establishments, at £100 million, which, if met, would make up chairman Dragan Solak's sales hopes in one go. It has since been reported, however, by the Daily Echo that the Saints would want something in the region of half of that bank-breaking amount.

Spurs are one of the teams that have shown keen interest in the midfielder. They had a bid worth £35 million rejected by Southampton for Dibling in January, according to Football Insider. They still feel confident in their abilities to sign the prospect, but there are some question marks hanging over the deal.

Tottenham consider £40 million Tyler Dibling move

According to Jacobs, Spurs would be willing to pay around what they did for James Maddison after he was relegated with Leicester City in 2023 (£40 million). And while they do see Dibling's high ceiling, there is a bit of concern over his lack of playing time towards the end of last season which could prevent them from taking the plunge with the teenager.

"Tyler Dibling is the one that I keep hearing too in terms of a versatile attacker," said the journalist on the Last Word on Spurs podcast. "For him on the right side, Southampton have this public grandstanding £100 million number. But that's not my understanding.

"That's pretty much just games, and Tottenham's perspective with Dibling is that they are pretty much leading the race and now determining if they want to bid.

"And by that, I mean that they feel the player wants to join Tottenham, but they've not decided yet whether because of the second half of the season he had in the Premier League where he didn't play as much, they actually want to proceed with a bid.

"But if they do, they feel like the player will say yes. And the perspective of Spurs is, this isn't a £100 million deal. This is closer to the number that was paid for James Madison. So maybe 40, 45 million might be good enough."

Southampton will be under no pressure to let Dibling leave

Apart from Kyle Walker-Peters, who has now been linked with south coast rivals Brighton & Hove Albion, all of Southampton's best assets are tied down to long-term deals. Dibling's contract runs until the summer of 2027, giving the club plenty of bargaining power in any negotiations with Spurs or other Premier League sides who might fancy going after the midfielder this summer.

They won't feel any necessity to sell and are reportedly being a pain to deal with because of the price tags they have put on their most sought-after talents. The likes of Dibling, who might not necessarily find moves away from St Mary's this summer, could be key contributors to a promotion push in the Championship next season. Either way, it's a win-win for the Saints.