Tim Sherwood has suggested that Liverpool could embark along a familiar transfer path to sign one player he’s described as ‘a superstar in the making’.
In the last 10 years, the Reds have purchased more players from Southampton than any other club, with Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren, Nathaniel Clyne, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk all swapping St Mary’s for Anfield.
Of that sextet, only the Dutchman remains on Merseyside, and he came up aginst his former side in a five-goal thriller on Sunday.
Speaking after Liverpool’s win over the Saints, Sherwood was highly impressed by Tyler Dibling, who was felled by Andy Robertson for the penalty which brought about the home team’s equaliser as Adam Armstrong scored on the rebound from Caoimhin Kelleher’s initial save.
The ex-Tottenham manager even claimed that the Reds might raid Southampton once more for the gifted 18-year-old, telling The Weekend Wrap on Optus Sport: “Dibling is the man, this boy, he’s playing against. They’re usually their feeder club, aren’t they Southampton, for Liverpool? He will probably be their next signing.
“I don’t know when that will be, he’s only 18 years of age, but he’s ready to step up. Already you know there is a superstar in the making there.”
In what’s been a largely miserable return to the Premier League for Southampton, Dibling has been a rare shining light in Russell Martin’s side.
When watching how comfortable he looks at top-flight level, it’s incredible to think that he’d only played two minutes of senior league football prior to this season, but he’s already started seven times in England’s uppermost division since August.
He’s already been linked with Tottenham and Manchester United in recent weeks, and he was hailed for a ‘fearless’ performance against the latter in September on a day when his withdrawal saw the Saints manager loudly hecked by the St Mary’s crowd (Sky Sports).
Since that mid-2010s flurry, Liverpool haven’t actually raided Southampton with regularity, and they already have a hugely exciting teenage right winger on their books in Ben Doak, which could see Dibling filed under the ‘surplus to requirements’ category by the Anfield hierarchy.
Nonetheless, the manner in which he gave the runaround to an accomplished defender in Robertson on Sunday must’ve struck a chord with Arne Slot, and in the discernibly possible event that the Saints are relegated this season, the 18-year-old will surely remain in the Premier League by moving elsewhere.
Whether or not that’s to the current top-flight leaders is a question which could crop up in the coming months, should he keep living up to Sherwood’s enormous billing.
The post “He’s ready to step up” – Tim Sherwood backs rising ‘superstar’ to be Liverpool’s ‘next signing’ appeared first on The Empire of The Kop.
