After spending just two months with the Blues, the 18-year-old is thriving with the Saints back in the Premier League
It's not often that a young player walks away from Chelsea of their own accord rather than being brutally cut loose by the west London club, but that was the decision Tyler Dibling took two years ago as he returned to Southampton just two months after he had been lured away to Stamford Bridge.
Fast-forward two years and both player and club are reaping the rewards of his comeback, as the 18-year-old is demonstrating his huge potential having been fast-tracked into the first team with the Saints back in the big time after securing promotion via the play-offs at the end of 2023-24.
A versatile attacking midfielder who is capable of operating out wide, Dibling has caught the eye in the early weeks of the season with his fearless ball-carrying and trickery – with his form even leading to links to another Premier League giant in Manchester United. But just who is Southampton's teenage sensation? GOAL has you covered…
GettyWhere it all began
Born in Exeter in 2006, Dibling started out at local club Axminster Town, where his dad played for the men's team, before joining neighbouring Millwey Rise aged five. It was from there that he was first picked up by Southampton in 2012, and after a year with Exeter City in his hometown, he would re-join the Saints in 2014 and went on to spend eight years in the famed academy that produced the likes of Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott.
Viewed as another potential gem, Dibling was already training with the Under-18s at the age of 15, and he was rewarded with the offer of a future first professional contract in October 2021 to follow his two-year scholarship.
However, with the midfielder still free to agree a move elsewhere before he turned 17 and amid unprecedented interest from other clubs including Newcastle and Chelsea after an impressive 2021-22 campaign, he was poached by the Blues in July 2022 after accepting a lucrative package with a view to a pro contract in 2023.
That wasn't the end of the story, though; a shy 16-year-old, Dibling struggled to adapt to his new surroundings at Cobham, making only two appearances for the U18s before calling it quits and returning to Southampton just two months after he had departed in September 2022.
AdvertisementThe big break
Playing well above his age grade, including making his debut for the U23s at the age of 16, Dibling had generated plenty of interest during the 2021-22 season before his ill-fated switch to Chelsea, as he made 13 goal contributions in just 22 appearances.
Among those was the hat-trick against Newcastle's U23s that thrust him into the spotlight. A three-goal haul would have been impressive enough, but the attacking midfielder somehow managed to score a trio of near-identical goals, and all of them in the first half to boot. Dibling drove at the heart of the Magpies' defence before unleashing a left-footed shot into the bottom-right corner not once, not twice, but thrice.
Highlights of his extraordinary exploits inevitably went viral, and that is probably the moment when attentiveness in him began to intensify, with Newcastle ironically the first club to express an interest in his services, according to . The teenager was included in then-manager Ralph Hasenhuttl's first-team squad for the clash with Brentford the following month, but he didn't make it onto the pitch.
How it's going
Despite returning to the club, Dibling would still have to bide his time for a first-team opportunity at St. Mary's. Having signed his first professional contract in February 2023, it wasn't until August that year that he would make his senior debut – coming on as a late substitute in a Carabao Cup clash against Gillingham.
Though Southampton had been relegated to the Championship and he was regularly included in matchday squads in 2023-24, Dibling saw just two minutes of action in the second tier under Russell Martin as he continued to predominantly ply his trade in the Premier League 2, although he did see plenty of action in the FA Cup after the turn of the year.
That has all changed this season, however; with the Saints back in the big time, Martin has integrated the youngster in his first-team setup from the off and is reaping the rewards. The 18-year-old has been involved in each of their seven games so far, notching three goal involvements in all competitions.
He was handed his full Premier League debut against Manchester United recently from the right-wing, tormenting makeshift left-back Diogo Dalot throughout his 63 minutes on the pitch and winning what could have been a crucial penalty, but Cameron Archer's effort was saved with the score goalless in an eventual 3-0 defeat.
The following week, Dibling would cap his fine start to life in the first team with his first-ever senior goal; there was something poetic about the assist coming from veteran Southampton academy product Adam Lallana, who is twice Dibling's age, as their latest graduate controlled his through ball expertly before sweeping a finish into the back of the Ipswich Town net.
GettyBiggest strengths
Dibling has already demonstrated at the highest level that his game is all about driving at his opponent and making things happen in the final third. The teenager's ball-carrying ability is exceptional as he combines footwork with the power to burst past his marker, and he seems to have the end product to match from what we have seen so far.
At 18, Dibling still has some growing to do, but he is already a physically imposing proposition for opposition defenders and will only get bigger and stronger in the coming years. He is versatile, too – equally comfortable as a No.10 where he is more than capable of picking a pass, or as a tricky winger.
He is hard-working off the ball, too, but the attribute that seems to have caught his manager's eye is the confidence and liberty with which he has played so far. Speaking after the recent clash with Nottingham Forest, Martin said: "Tyler was brilliant. He was our biggest attacking threat. He was on the pitch for 15 minutes and he's 18. We need a bit more of that mentality, that freedom to go and create, but he's a really special talent. We just have to take our time with him."
Martin added after Dibling's goal in the draw with Ipswich: "He can do things that not many other players I’ve ever seen can do. I love working with him, I love watching him play. I’d pay a lot of money to watch him play football and fortunately I’m the guy that gets to work with him and try and develop him."