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Tottenham have been heavily linked with Southampton’s Tyler Dibling, whose club have put a £100m price tag on his head
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Tottenham Hotspur are among the Premier League clubs to be made aware of Southampton’s staggering asking price for 19-year-old midfielder Tyler Dibling, in what could potentially be a huge setback towards the North London side’s transfer plans.
Spurs are currently 14th in the table out of both domestic cup competitions and are facing up to the grim prospect of having no football on the continent for just the second time since 2006 unless they can go all the way to glory in this year’s Europa League campaign.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have suffered from an avalanche of injury issues this season and are also facing up to the difficult reality that some of their big-hitters from years gone by are now approaching their twilight years, ramping up the need for improvement and a fresh injection of life.
This has led to calls from many fans and media outlets that midfielder Dibling could be the player to answer their problems. The teenager has only scored four times in 30 appearances across all competitions this season but has managed to stand out in a Southampton side which could finish the season as the worst in Premier League history if they continue on their current trajectory.
Dibling is blessed with speed, agility, good technique and an incredible ability to guide past defenders. However, the Saints despite the imminent prospect of relegation will not sell their crown jewel on the cheap and Telegraph Sport claim hat the Saints are only willing to part ways with Dibling if they receive a British record fee of over £100m, eclipsing the figure paid for Jack Grealish by Manchester City in 2021.
Tottenham already have a ready made midfielder in the ranks
Since signing for Tottenham for £30m from Leeds United, Archie Gray has played in a variety of positions including right-back, left-back and centre-back, but it wasn’t until 17 March in a 2-0 defeat to Fulham that Spurs actually got to see the teenager in his best position as a central midfielder from the start.
Gray played the full 90 minutes against Fulham and despite being on the losing team, was heavily praised by a number of outlets including the Athletic for his command over the midfield, his composure on the ball and his ability to anticipate danger and cut out opposition attacks.
“Gray was mainly responsible for putting out fires. There were not many occasions where he was able to show off his quality in possession,” said The Athletic’s Jay Harris, before adding: “Hopefully in the future, as he plays more regularly in central midfield, Gray will become more confident at taking risks in possession. Gray’s performance against Fulham was decent and he deserves further opportunities.”
What is Archie Gray’s best position?
Archie Gray’s versatility, work rate and promise in a difficult season has been one of the best things to come out of the campaign from Ange Postecoglou’s perspective but the teenager is still waiting for a run of games in his best position.
During his time with the Leeds team, Gray started 32 games in the Championship, the same number as Jude Bellingham did for Birmingham City, and a total bettered only by two players – Ryan Sessegnon and Gareth Bale, both of whom of course moved on to play for Tottenham. One of them was a pretty major success. Gray played most of his games for the Whites at right-back but it could be argued he played his best stuff in midfield.
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Opta Analyst says Gray is extremely comfortable on the ball and despite his age exudes confidence on the pitch. He constantly looks to receive to feet, can play off either foot and is effective at retaining possession, though he is by no means overly careful or cautious on the ball.
The outlet also notes that Gray had 97 tackles last term, the most by any Leeds footballer, while also recording an impressive 45 take-ons, the third highest behind other notable absentees Georgino Rutter and Crysencio Summerville while completing 85% of his passes attempted.
Gray is a completely different style of footballer to Dibling based on his early stages but if utilised properly, he could well prove to be Tottenham’s number six for the next decade in an area where the team has lacked the required quality this term.