If you had turned up to a Southampton youth game a couple of years ago, you would have seen a player running around with his socks rolled down and his laces undone.
You might have been thinking that the teenager is either a bit scruffy or maybe even full of himself, trying to stand out from his team-mates who had their socks pulled up and laces tied properly.
But then the game started and any preconceived idea about this player’s attitude or ability would be quickly washed away. Instead, you would be left thinking about the talent Southampton have on their hands. You would have seen him dominate the match and finish it as the best player on the pitch.
A few years later, socks still rolled down but laces now tied, that same player is showcasing his talent in the Premier League.
Tyler Dibling, 18, has been one of the standout young stars of the 2024-25 season, a rare beacon of hope in a Southampton team that looks destined to be relegated to the Championship given their place at the bottom of the table and low points tally (five) after 14 games.
“For his age, he is so powerful, yet elegant,” David Horseman, Dibling’s former B-team coach at Southampton, now a first-team coach at Bristol Rovers, tells The Athletic. “The ball was never the problem for him.
“Some players can’t get the ball down quickly enough to make a decision, but Tyler always had the ball down and under control, he always had a burst of pace. It was obvious that he was an outstanding talent.”
But what of the rolled-down socks and untied laces?
Dibling playing for England Under-16s in 2022 (Ricardo Nascimento/Getty Images for DFB)
“The beauty with him is that he has never changed,” adds Horseman. “He looked like a scruffbag at times and used to drive everyone mad. They tried getting everyone to smarten up, but they left him to it and that is the best thing about him.
“People get into the first team and try to create a false image, but Tyler has not changed in the slightest.”
Dibling missed Southampton’s most recent game at home to Chelsea — a 5-1 defeat — on Wednesday night through suspension, but will be available for Saturday’s trip to Aston Villa.
His new-found prominence in a Southampton shirt wasn’t guaranteed, though, and it would have been a different story had he stayed at Chelsea after leaving the south coast in July 2022. This was only a few months after the then-16-year-old had gone viral for his hat-trick in a Premier League 2 game against Newcastle United.
6: ⚽️
33: ⚽️
40: ⚽️Take it away, Tyler Dibling 👏 pic.twitter.com/aZDhWNbk56
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) April 25, 2022
His departure at Southampton was a blow. An academy famed for being one of the best in the country, known for giving first-team opportunities to youngsters deemed good enough, had lost one of England’s brightest prospects.
Sources around Southampton, kept anonymous to protect relationships, say Dibling was offered a deal worth around £3,000 ($4,000) a week to stay at Southampton, but Chelsea surpassed that.
Swapping academies was not about money, though. Chelsea’s youth setup is considered one of the best around and Dibling would be pitting himself against players of a similar calibre every day.
“Chelsea was arguably the best academy in the world,” says Horseman. “It is a brilliant finishing school. The contracts are favourable. We were disappointed he left because he had been on the bench for the first team and we could see a pathway for him, but nobody blamed him for going.”
At Southampton, Dibling was known for being a teenager of few words. Horseman joked that he would “struggle” to get much out of him in conversation, that he would have to “force” it — but within the dressing room, it was a different story.
He had several close relationships, including with Jimmy-Jay Morgan (now at Chelsea), his best friend at the club. Dibling is said to have been one of the funny characters.
“Maybe he was just more comfortable around them. You have to remember he was still only a child,” added Horseman.
Being quiet and reserved wasn’t an issue at Southampton, especially with all the credit he had in the bank from being an exceptionally talented young player, but it is a different environment at Chelsea.
Dibling, born in Exeter, was thrust into new surroundings and a youth team that contained a variety of personalities. To thrive, confidence is crucial.
Dibbling playing against Brighton this season (Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images)
After making only two appearances for Chelsea’s academy, talks began about an immediate return to Southampton.
“You have international after international from the first team down to the under-15s at Chelsea and it is a ruthless environment,” notes Horseman. “Tyler wasn’t ready for it.
“They treat the players properly there, but if you aren’t producing, you aren’t playing. It’s ruthless. It just wasn’t the right time for Tyler, and that is not down to how they would have treated him or his ability. It’s a different set of kids and the culture is different.”
When it became clear that a return to the south coast could happen, sources at Southampton, kept anonymous to protect relationships, say there was internal resistance. Some decision-makers at the club feared what message it would send to other academy players who leave Southampton and then decide they prefer their old surroundings.
Matt Hale, Southampton’s academy director at the time, adopted an approach that centred on having the best players in the academy, even if that meant welcoming Dibling back.
Southampton made sure his return was on their terms. The initial deal they offered him to stay was withdrawn and a new weekly salary, worth considerably less than the original proposal, was put to and accepted by Dibling.
“When I knew he was coming back, I sat all the under-21s and under-18s down and explained what was happening,” adds Horseman. “When he came back from Chelsea, he went to the under-18s. He had to earn the right to come back.
“He never moaned, at least not to us, and looking back, when you put the pieces together, he showed he is a strong character. He had to suck it up and go again, and I am sure Tyler felt awkward as anything when he came back.”
He has subsequently signed a new deal — in February 2023 — and that does not expire until 2027.
Fast forward two years and Dibling is having a breakthrough season in the Premier League. He has made 15 appearances in all competitions and opened his top-flight account in the 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town in September.
As reported by the Independent at a press conference in September, Southampton manager Russell Martin said he would “pay a lot of money” to watch Dibling in action, before adding a couple of months later to Sky Sports that the 18-year-old is still a “real introvert”.
“Last year, we sent him in from training three or four times because he’s so laid-back,” Martin told Sky Sports. “He has an ability that I’ve not seen in many people.”
Understated on the pitch is not Dibling’s style, though.
Of Premier League players with 500-plus minutes this season, Dibling has the third-highest average carry distance (8.1 metres), behind Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye (8.2m) and Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku (8.8m). The way he runs with the ball is illustrated below.
He is always looking to get forward. In the Premier League, only Doku, Leicester City’s Abdul Fatawu and West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus average a higher proportion of carries that include a take-on (12.7 per cent).
As is often the case with the game’s brightest sparks, Dibling is constantly roughed up.
Only three Premier League players have won more fouls than Dibling this season (Newcastle United duo Anthony Gordon and Bruno Guimaraes and Chelsea’s Cole Palmer).
Dibling has elevated his game and is showing just how good he can be, whether it is tearing away from the imperious Liverpool team and marauding up the pitch, or tracking back to help out in defence.
Two years on from a taste of what life can look like at the highest level, Dibling’s appetite appears to have changed. He looks more ready than ever to continue his ascent.
(Top photo: Dan Istitene/Getty Images)
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