Newcastle United are reportedly monitoring Southampton teenage starlet Tyler Dibling as the Magpies look to strengthen their youth team ranks.
The 16-year-old is someone Newcastle are very familiar. Dibling bagged a sensational first half hat-trick in April at St James' Park for Southampton against Newcastle in the Premier League 2. The U16 England international is highly rated on Tyneside and is someone Newcastle are reportedly keen on signing. The teenager is an attacking midfielder who is capable of playing as a forward.
So impressive were Dibling's performances for Southampton's U18 and B-team sides, it prompted Saints boss Ralph Hassenhuttl to include the teenager on the bench for a Premier League tie against Brentford last season. The comparisons to former Southampton star Gareth Bale have been made by plenty of Saints fans. Bale made his Southampton first team debut at the age of 16, a feat Dibling could match should he remain with the Saints next season.
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"We know his qualities and we are not jumping on this; we try to keep it calm," Hassenhuttl said of Dibling back in April.
"He is one of the shining players in our youth, we know that, meanwhile, it is always very difficult to keep them in our club.
“The good thing is that we see how good he is, the bad thing is other clubs are seeing it, but you can be sure we will try to push him and to support him. I think he represents one of the good ones.”
Hassenhuttl isn't the only one who has been impressed by the 16-year-old's performances. Southampton's B team boss Dave Horseman was effuse in his praise of the teenager after he made the step up to the Premier League 2.
"Incredible, to be honest," said Horseman when asked what he made of Dibling's St James' Park hat-trick.
"He [Dibling] is clearly a clever learner, because we didn't have much time to work on things yesterday, but he picked up what we wanted and got into those spaces and he was so clinical.
"But then we know that Tyler [Dibling] has a good attitude and a good willingness to learn, but to do it at Year 11, as a 16-year-old against some players who are 21, shows that he has huge promise and we have to provide that pathway.
"But we are a unique club, because I don't think there are many 16-year-olds, let alone two, starting in the B team at U23s and executing the game plan as well as he did, he was outstanding."
Should Newcastle manage to recruit Dibling, he will join the likes of Galway United's Alex Murphy and Kilmarnock's Charlie McArthur. who have both agreed deals to join the Magpies academy ranks.
And the teenager could be set to sign for Newcastle in the very near future.
Youth football expert John Wenham has told Football Insider Newcastle will announce the signing of a Saints academy prospect by the end of the week.
While it has yet to be fully confirmed it is Dibling, Wenham said: "I don’t know the name but I know Newcastle have picked up a 16-year-old Southampton boy on £6,500-per-week.
“That’s fairly interesting because it shows the club are developing away from the first team and investing in the academy. I think the announcement will come in the coming days, before the end of the week."
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