Latest news with #Under-16s
Scottish Sun
24-04-2025
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Rangers ‘likely to lose' young star to Premier League giants – but they won't lose out on cash
He won't be the first to swap Scotland for down south ON THE MOVE Rangers 'likely to lose' young star to Premier League giants – but they won't lose out on cash Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A RANGERS academy star is being tracked by a Premier League giant, according to a report. He can sign professional terms with the Ibrox club this summer but they look set to lose him to the Prem. Sign up for the Rangers newsletter Sign up 1 Rangers look set to lose a youngster to the Premier League Credit: SNS Oliver Goodbrand, 16, has risen through the youth ranks at Gers and made his B team debut last year at the age of 15. The defender has captained Scotland at youth level, wearing the armband during the Under-16s Victory Shield campaign. According to the Daily Record, the up-and-coming starlet is on Newcastle United's wishlist and they are keen to take him south of the border and will pay Rangers a training compensation fee to secure his services. It's believed Gers have offered the teenager professional terms too but they are resigned to him having a desire to move on and test himself in England. He would be the latest talent to come through the Ibrox academy only to take an offer from a club down south. Billy Gilmour did the same in 2017 after spending eight years with his boyhood club. And Rory Wilson moved to Aston Villa in 2022 after a stunning run of goal scoring form for the Gers youth teams. Speaking after making his B team debut against Partick Thistle in November, Goodbrand said: 'I was focused on just being myself, getting on the ball, and doing the things that I do best. 'It's brilliant and getting exposure to play against experienced players is only going to help my development. It's definitely something which will make me improve. 'I'm hungry for more of these opportunities because it's what I believe will make me progress as a player the most.' The Coffee Club assess who could be Rangers' next manager as doubts emerge over Daniel Farke's future at Leeds Newcastle snapped up Charlie McArthur from Kilmarnock back in 2022. He made his first team debut for Killie at 16 and is currently on loan at Carlistle United, where he has played ten times since joining in the January transfer window. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
New York Times
21-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ethan Nwaneri at 18: A teenage star steeped in Hale End heritage
The 2013-14 season may stand out to different Arsenal supporters for different reasons. For some, it will be remembered as the season when the club ended its eight-season trophy drought by winning the FA Cup. For others, it may be remembered as then record-signing Mesut Ozil's debut campaign, or as the year that Aaron Ramsey dominated the Premier League. Advertisement For a young Ethan Nwaneri, however, this is when he was first acclimatising to Arsenal with the pre-academy at Hale End. This was before the site's redevelopment, when upon walking through the gates, you were greeted by an old pavilion building and an indoor dome where countless memories were made. This is where Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith Rowe, Folarin Balogun, Reiss Nelson and Joe Willock learned their craft before graduating to the senior setup at London Colney. For Greg Lincoln, head of the foundation phase at Arsenal's academy at the time, the attention that Nwaneri paid to these names is just part of what made him stand out. 'Liam Brady always had this big thing about the kids racing into the training ground because they couldn't wait to get there and play football with their friends,' Lincoln, now England Under-16s head coach, tells The Athletic. 'Ethan was six years of age, this little dot, but he was doing things with a football that I probably still can't do to this day. 'Ethan just loved the game. Pre-academy training would finish and other parents would all rush off. An hour later, he'd still be watching the older boys on tiptoes looking through the fence with his dad or with a ball at his feet anywhere there was a wall, kicking the ball, getting touches. He was always smiling. You could tell that he really wanted to be there.' Lincoln is an Arsenal academy graduate himself, making it as far as the bench in the Champions League under Arsene Wenger in the late 1990s. Having come through the system, he was well placed to make the pitch to Nwaneri's family when it was decision-time on which academy to join at under-nines level, but did not try to sell a dream. 'You can't guarantee any young player that they're gonna play in the first team — certainly at eight,' he adds. 'What you can guarantee is that they're gonna have unlimited opportunities, experiences; you're gonna have fantastic resources to ultimately maximise your potential as a player and as a person. Advertisement 'Ethan was in high demand. He could have gone to any academy within the catchment area that he was allowed but what he saw was a vision. He saw the other players in the system, he saw the smiles on the faces, he saw that there was a pathway. 'It's a club that really believes deeply and passionately about youth development, and has always been built on that.' Jack Wilshere, Nwaneri's future under-18s head coach, personified Arsenal's commitment to youth development when he was present as Nwaneri signed his first contract in May 2015. Just weeks later, at half-time of a 4-1 thrashing of West Bromwich Albion, Nwaneri was introduced on the pitch at the Emirates Stadium as part of that year's new cohort of under-nines at half-time. Wilshere had just scored what was later voted Match of the Day's goal of the season. Nwaneri spent most of his academy days playing in midfield. His first exposure up front came with Arsenal's under-14s and under-15s before stints in defensive midfield as an under-16. The step-up to the under-18s, under-21s and first team in the 2022-23 season brought more variation, as the north Londoner also had exposure out wide as well as in attacking midfield and up front. 'In Ethan's case, you see where he will develop into and actually transfer his game into those pocket areas like Martin Odegaard,' said academy manager Per Mertesacker in October. 'That will be his position going forward but he might have to play as a false nine or on the right wing, and (first-team manager) Mikel Arteta will use it to his strength. If you say: 'I can just play No 10', that will restrict you, so flexibility is key here.' That flexibility has been especially important since Bukayo Saka's hamstring injury in December, with Nwaneri stepping up on the right wing. Nwaneri's early physical development has helped him fill those boots but alongside his natural proficiency, years of work had to be done within Arsenal to prepare him. Advertisement 'They have an approach to physically developing players called the 'arrow approach',' Des Ryan, formerly Arsenal's head of sports medicine and athletic development and now director of sport at the University of Galway in Ireland, tells The Athletic. 'Ivan Gazidis was CEO when we developed this and he wanted players ready for the first team early, and now that's happening. 'In order to do that, the first part of the arrow was functional competence, then movement skills, integrated conditioning and planned periodisation. Per Mertesacker wants the most efficient movers. The science and medicine departments have come up with programmes to develop them, and the scouts find players who have good movement. Some players have that anyway but it will be accentuated by the programme to develop that. 'Mikel's playing philosophy isn't too dissimilar from Arsene Wenger's. He wants highly technical players who are comfortable on the ball, able to play through thirds, and have high-speed repeatability.' Wherever Nwaneri played, it was all about developing him further and getting the most out of what some in youth football call 'super strengths'. 'His have been clear to see in the Premier League and Champions League this season,' Lincoln says. 'His ability to go past players, change direction and speed while still having the ball completely under control, and then his finishing — he's just so explosive and ruthless with his finishing. 'When you're seeing these goals flying in, it's no coincidence. He's hit that shot (into the top corner) 10,000 times. He's obsessed with getting better, so our job, really, is to design practices that enhance these super strengths. 'When you try to develop players, we talk about relevance to the game and if it's realistic to the game. Are you getting enough opportunity to repeat the skill to improve it? For example, if you play an 11-vs-11 game, he might only get two or three opportunities to do it. 'The skill of the coaches is to design practices where it's not 11 vs 11. It may be a back four and a screening three in front against seven attacking players. Then you're locked into the final third and by the constraints of the environment, you're getting into those positions time and again. You might overload the attacking team to make it easier or underload them to make it harder.' Advertisement Lincoln's role at Arsenal's academy was to be more of an overseer. His relationship with Nwaneri became even more special when the pair reunited with England's under-16s in 2022 before they both moved up to the under-17s in the following years. Nwaneri had been known to England's youth setup since he was 12, playing for Arsenal's under-14s in a national qualifier group, which they topped. Born in 2007, he joined the 2006-born cohort of England Under-16s aged 14 as he needed a different challenge. He played six matches under Lincoln as an under-16 and seven as an under-17. The most important matches with Lincoln in charge arguably came at last summer's European Under-17s Championship in Cyprus. Arteta had already given Nwaneri two Premier League cameos and he was primed to go on pre-season with the first team. Having been in the previous under-17 European Championship and World Cup squads, this tournament was about bridging the gap between youth and senior football. Nwaneri excelled, scoring three goals in four games. One of these was a trademark finish into the top corner against France, but the work went way beyond just his 'super strengths'. 'Ethan's a very self-driven individual,' Lincoln says. 'Last summer, Ethan and I looked at elite players in the pathway that played his position that he's maybe looking to hunt down, and at some stage, might have to try and get in front of. 'Ethan has a really good perception of the game, so we spoke about using that not only in possession but out of possession too because it can be the opportunity to win the ball back and score. He was really receptive to that and there was a good clip of Phil Foden doing it. We took it from a Man City versus Chelsea game, and Foden was doing it in minute four, 44 and 94. These clips are not highlights on Match of the Day but ultimately, they're really important.' The off-the-ball aspect of Nwaneri's game was a focus with Arsenal's under-21s last season. The team's head coach Mehmet Ali spoke to The Athletic about the teenager developing a better understanding of when and where to apply pressure before the summer. Advertisement Gradual improvements were visible in pre-season but there have been multiple moments throughout the 2024-25 campaign where his defensive work has benefited Arsenal. The benefits of the 2024 pre-season tour to the U.S. were not just to do with football either. During that camp, Ali identified that Nwaneri and close friend Myles Lewis-Skelly developed a 'level of sharpness on the pitch, understanding where pressure is coming from and moving the ball with quality'. 'They've matured as players off the pitch as well,' he added. 'Their temperament or control of their emotions is better. They've got better coping strategies when things aren't going as well and that's all because of the environment and the players they're around.' That personal growth has been just as important. Nwaneri has never been the loudest player but that is not an issue. His talking tends to be done on the pitch, but an effort has still been made to bring him out of his shell. As a tangible example, he captained England's under-19s three times across two camps this season but again, subtle work has taken place behind the scenes. 'With the (England) under-17s, we made a big thing of Ethan having been to previous tournaments,' Lincoln adds. 'He was coming into this group having done it before. I had a conversation with him and his dad to say: 'Ethan, you're the leader. You're leading this group now. You've done it. They're looking at how you behave, so you're driving those standards', which he did. 'It's important that we nudge certain personalities out of their comfort zone for the right reasons. If we were reviewing a game, Ethan might lead a group of eight to see what we did well and what we can improve on for the next game. It's also those one-to-one conversations, and we had a lot in the summer about, 'How can we bridge the gap? How can we push you to the next level, whether at Arsenal or with England?'.' Lincoln stresses the importance of having a genuine connection with a young player to have frank conversations. With their history, that has come quite naturally to himself and Nwaneri. Their birthdays are two days apart, with Nwaneri's today (March 21) and Lincoln's on March 23, so both tend to fall within international breaks. Nwaneri scored twice against Denmark Under-17s a day after turning 16 in 2023. Last year, he scored one in a 5-1 win over Northern Ireland Under-17s the day before his 17th birthday, and then scored another against Hungary on Lincoln's birthday. Advertisement The FA's operations team knows when birthdays are coming up, so a plan was set out. The squad went to Nando's on their day off, and out came the balloons and a birthday cake before a boisterous rendition of Happy Birthday. 'You can imagine teenage boys: 'Oh come on, this is so embarrassing', but it was great,' Lincoln recalls. 'Nando's had the Saka sauce at that time, so he held it up and we sent a photo to Bukayo.' This year, Nwaneri is in line to celebrate his 18th birthday by making his England Under-21s debut against France tonight (kick-off 8pm GMT; 4pm ET). It is easy to forget that Nwaneri is still so young given he was thrust into the spotlight in 2022, becoming the Premier League's youngest player at 15. This is a teenager who is still developing in many ways. His 29 first-team appearances and eight goals this season show why coaches throughout his journey, from Hale End to the Emirates, have put faith in him, but there should be more to come and no one knows that better than Nwaneri himself. 'He's quite shy off the pitch but he loves the attention on it because that's his arena — where he belongs,' Lincoln says. 'Ethan's a mentality monster. Whatever he does, he wants to be the best.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘World-class talent': how Tyler Dibling rose to be a shining light in Saints' gloom
The mannequins stood no chance. After a two-hour drive from Wiltshire, Jeremy Newton would arrive at Axe Valley Academy in Devon on Friday afternoons, unload his car and furnish the school's 3G pitch for a one‑on‑one session. The Southampton academy coach would build in-game scenarios using props: cones, dummy opponents to recreate a back four or three‑man wall. An iPad would record the next hour, providing the opportunity to review footage, hone details. Once school was out, a 14‑year‑old at the start of his GCSEs would get to work on his fledgling career. It is the reason why Tyler Dibling's signed No 7 shirt, from England Under-16s duty, greets visitors in the school's reception in Axminster. There has long been chatter about Dibling's talent. At 15 he played for Southampton Under‑21s and a couple of months after turning 16 he scored a hat‑trick of near-identical goals against Newcastle Under-21s at St James' Park which catapulted him on to the radar of the elite, and into public consciousness. Gary Lineker posted the eyes emoji when sharing the viral clip of Dibling's goals from the edge of the D. 'The reaction to the hat-trick was crazy,' Dibling says. 'My dad drove up from Devon to watch that game so it was worth it and a great memory.' Dibling had joined Southampton aged eight, spending time at development centres in Yeovil and Bath, part of the club's strategy to 'pin down the south' under the then academy manager, Matt Hale. Dibling would sleep in his father Sam's car en route to training on Tuesday evenings, stay overnight and spend Wednesday there on a day‑release programme. 'One of my best friends who didn't go to my school didn't realise how good I was … I just had a normal school life.' Dibling has since been to Chelsea and back and emerged as Southampton's beacon of light in a season of struggle, Stamford Bridge the next stop on Tuesday. In September, on his first Premier League start, he destroyed Manchester United's Diogo Dalot to win a penalty, aged 18, having earlier forced André Onana into a superb save. Before the game he was so nervous that he struggled to eat and standing next to Marcus Rashford in the tunnel he felt as if he was playing The Journey, the first-person mode in the Fifa video game. The following week he scored against Ipswich. Dibling has made a habit of eliminating defenders with fearless dribbling and direct running. He is the joint-10th most-fouled player in the division this season, though of the players to have been fouled more, only Bruno Guimarães, James Maddison and Jordan Ayew have been fouled more per minute. It is a similar story on international duty. Dibling made his England Under-21 debut in November and Russell Martin, who gave Dibling his Southampton debut, believes he will evolve into a senior England regular. Ryan Garry, his former England Under-17 coach, recalls Dibling regularly catching the eye in a group which included the Arsenal duo Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly. 'The foul count against, especially in youth football, can be a good indicator of what issues they are causing,' Garry says. 'Tyler, Ethan and Myles were often the most-fouled players in our games.' Dibling, 19 last week, is arguably the most exciting young English player. Only Dean Huijsen and Kobbie Mainoo have played more in the top flight this season as teenagers. Dibling joined Chelsea, the team he supported, two and a half years ago but returned a month later having struggled to settle. After playing for Chelsea in an under-18s draw at Southampton, he confided in Newton that he wanted to come back. 'Tyler broke down and just said: 'I've a made a mistake, I don't enjoy it,'' Newton says. 'This was a Saturday and the transfer deadline closed the following Friday, so there was work to do.' My dad emailed hundreds of times asking for Southampton to come and see me Tyler Dibling Dibling has drawn comparisons to Jack Grealish because he wears his socks low but the pair are contrasting personalities with different paths. At 19 Grealish was fresh from a loan at Notts County and yet to make a Premier League start. Dibling's off-the-cuff style is languid, reminiscent of the Southampton great Matt Le Tissier, but he is rangy and powerful. Dibling is an introvert but a different animal on the pitch. 'A lovely contrast,' Garry says. His character keeps him grounded. 'I see it as his greatest strength because he is unbelievably consistent,' Southampton's academy manager, Andy Goldie, says. On his first-team debut at Gillingham in the Carabao Cup two years ago, Dibling's socks were unusually high, at the behest of Jason Wilcox, Southampton's then director of football. 'He's always looked a bit scruffy,' Hale says, laughing, 'but when he's that good you don't mind. We had a thing that until you're 16, you tuck your shirt in, pull your socks up, look smart and then when you get your professional contract and you start playing in the first team you can do what you want. We had to keep on top of Tyler a little bit.' As a five-year-old, Dibling represented Millwey Rise, coached by his father, who plays for Axminster Town reserves with Dibling's elder brother, Owen. He then joined the pre-academy at Exeter City. 'My dad emailed hundreds of times asking for Southampton to come and see me,' he says, and it worked, with Saints scouting Dibling at an under-sevens tournament. 'They were so much fun. The Exeter City academy boys refereed it, so Ethan Ampadu reffed one of my games.' Dibling has impressed wide but the consensus is he is most dangerous as a No 10. 'I don't think you see many central players who can pick up the ball in deeper areas, back to goal, and turn the way he does,' Goldie says. 'Players in those positions tend to pass – and too often sideways. He catches the eye because he gets the ball and his first thought is: 'How quickly can I get to the goal?' He has scored a few – that part of his game will continue to develop – and once that bit has really clicked you're talking about a world-class talent.' One of Dibling's super-strengths, as Goldie puts it, is ball-carrying. 'He had an incredible drive to get better and a practise mentality, the kind Beckham and Cantona have talked about, that you don't see too much in today's game,' Hale says. 'Tyler would practise at home in his front room, before school, in the garage, in the garden; he always wanted a ball at his feet. We put a lot of emphasis on ball mastery and starting every single session with a ball each, dribbling, changing direction. Their homework, we almost say, is to get 3,000 touches of the ball every day.' During Covid, Dibling sent videos to his coaches. 'I would be in my little back yard,' he says. 'My dad set up a goal, cones in the corners and I'd be dribbling around them trying to shoot.' In PE lessons, Dibling would drag smaller goals in front of full-size ones to practise free-kicks, recalls his then teacher, Jack Ward. 'Myself and my friends would make it so we only had the corners to aim for and practise for ages,' says Dibling, who lives with Will Merry, another teenage Saints forward, and a former schoolmate. At school Dibling had a Nike sponsorship and gave lots of garments to his best friend, Lewis, who did not have as much as a youngster. 'Ty used to joke: 'Do you want a pair of boots, sir?'' Ward says. 'Looking back, I wish I'd said yes.' Dibling's single‑mindedness was apparent. 'I had conversations with him where it was: 'What's the plan if it doesn't work?'' Ward says. 'He was like: 'I don't have one, this is it.'' At times tough love was required. Martin sent Dibling in early from training on a few occasions last season because it was felt he was not maximising himself. Martin made clear to Wilcox he felt Dibling was the club's best talent but bad habits, perhaps from being the outstanding player in youth matches, had to be ironed out. Last season under-21s staff trained a camera on Dibling to improve his awareness, the clips analysed together. Last summer League Two clubs interested in loaning him voiced reservations about his defensive work, a theory that has not aged well. Martin trusted him to thrive. Dibling shone in pre-season and has single-handedly eclipsed the club target of academy players getting 1,000 senior minutes in this campaign. In one session Charlie Taylor bounced off Dibling and ended on his backside. Memorable moments continue to arrive. Goldie references Dibling's second goal, when he started and finished a move at Crystal Palace, tucking in from a couple of yards out. 'It showed evolution in his game, populating the box, picking up the second ball and putting it away,' Goldie says. At Arsenal he clipped the post with a shot but another phase sticks out. 'Tyler tracked back all the way with [Riccardo] Calafiori, who broke down the wing, and he caught up with him through real work ethic, grit and determination. I think that was a really big moment where the penny dropped around how hard he has to work defensively.' Now some of the world's biggest clubs are taking note. 'At the start of the season I had so much confidence it felt like nobody could stop me,' Dibling says. 'The most surreal moment was scoring against Ipswich. You can see from my celebration that it meant so much. My friends were there, Lewis was there. Scoring in the Premier League just felt crazy.'
The Guardian
25-02-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
‘World-class talent': how Tyler Dibling rose to be a shining light in Saints' gloom
The mannequins stood no chance. After a two-hour drive from Wiltshire, Jeremy Newton would arrive at Axe Valley Academy in Devon on Friday afternoons, unload his car and furnish the school's 3G pitch for a one‑on‑one session. The Southampton academy coach would build in-game scenarios using props: cones, dummy opponents to recreate a back four or three‑man wall. An iPad would record the next hour, providing the opportunity to review footage, hone details. Once school was out, a 14‑year‑old at the start of his GCSEs would get to work on his fledgling career. It is the reason why Tyler Dibling's signed No 7 shirt, from England Under-16s duty, greets visitors in the school's reception in Axminster. There has long been chatter about Dibling's talent. At 15 he played for Southampton Under‑21s and a couple of months after turning 16 he scored a hat‑trick of near-identical goals against Newcastle Under-21s at St James' Park which catapulted him on to the radar of the elite, and into public consciousness. Gary Lineker posted the eyes emoji when sharing the viral clip of Dibling's goals from the edge of the D. 'The reaction to the hat-trick was crazy,' Dibling says. 'My dad drove up from Devon to watch that game so it was worth it and a great memory.' Dibling had joined Southampton aged eight, spending time at development centres in Yeovil and Bath, part of the club's strategy to 'pin down the south' under the then academy manager, Matt Hale. Dibling would sleep in his father Sam's car en route to training on Tuesday evenings, stay overnight and spend Wednesday there on a day‑release programme. 'One of my best friends who didn't go to my school didn't realise how good I was … I just had a normal school life.' Dibling has since been to Chelsea and back and emerged as Southampton's beacon of light in a season of struggle, Stamford Bridge the next stop on Tuesday. In September, on his first Premier League start, he destroyed Manchester United's Diogo Dalot to win a penalty, aged 18, having earlier forced André Onana into a superb save. Before the game he was so nervous that he struggled to eat and standing next to Marcus Rashford in the tunnel he felt as if he was playing The Journey, the first-person mode in the Fifa video game. The following week he scored against Ipswich. Dibling has made a habit of eliminating defenders with fearless dribbling and direct running. He is the joint-10th most-fouled player in the division this season, though of the players to have been fouled more, only Bruno Guimarães, James Maddison and Jordan Ayew have been fouled more per minute. It is a similar story on international duty. Dibling made his England Under-21 debut in November and Russell Martin, who gave Dibling his Southampton debut, believes he will evolve into a senior England regular. Ryan Garry, his former England Under-17 coach, recalls Dibling regularly catching the eye in a group which included the Arsenal duo Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly. 'The foul count against, especially in youth football, can be a good indicator of what issues they are causing,' Garry says. 'Tyler, Ethan and Myles were often the most-fouled players in our games.' Dibling, 19 last week, is arguably the most exciting young English player. Only Dean Huijsen and Kobbie Mainoo have played more in the top flight this season as teenagers. Dibling joined Chelsea, the team he supported, two and a half years ago but returned a month later having struggled to settle. After playing for Chelsea in an under-18s draw at Southampton, he confided in Newton that he wanted to come back. 'Tyler broke down and just said: 'I've a made a mistake, I don't enjoy it,'' Newton says. 'This was a Saturday and the transfer deadline closed the following Friday, so there was work to do.' Dibling has drawn comparisons to Jack Grealish because he wears his socks low but the pair are contrasting personalities with different paths. At 19 Grealish was fresh from a loan at Notts County and yet to make a Premier League start. Dibling's off-the-cuff style is languid, reminiscent of the Southampton great Matt Le Tissier, but he is rangy and powerful. Dibling is an introvert but a different animal on the pitch. 'A lovely contrast,' Garry says. His character keeps him grounded. 'I see it as his greatest strength because he is unbelievably consistent,' Southampton's academy manager, Andy Goldie, says. On his first-team debut at Gillingham in the Carabao Cup two years ago, Dibling's socks were unusually high, at the behest of Jason Wilcox, Southampton's then director of football. 'He's always looked a bit scruffy,' Hale says, laughing, 'but when he's that good you don't mind. We had a thing that until you're 16, you tuck your shirt in, pull your socks up, look smart and then when you get your professional contract and you start playing in the first team you can do what you want. We had to keep on top of Tyler a little bit.' As a five-year-old, Dibling represented Millwey Rise, coached by his father, who plays for Axminster Town reserves with Dibling's elder brother, Owen. He then joined the pre-academy at Exeter City. 'My dad emailed hundreds of times asking for Southampton to come and see me,' he says, and it worked, with Saints scouting Dibling at an under-sevens tournament. 'They were so much fun. The Exeter City academy boys refereed it, so Ethan Ampadu reffed one of my games.' Dibling has impressed wide but the consensus is he is most dangerous as a No 10. 'I don't think you see many central players who can pick up the ball in deeper areas, back to goal, and turn the way he does,' Goldie says. 'Players in those positions tend to pass – and too often sideways. He catches the eye because he gets the ball and his first thought is: 'How quickly can I get to the goal?' He has scored a few – that part of his game will continue to develop – and once that bit has really clicked you're talking about a world-class talent.' One of Dibling's super-strengths, as Goldie puts it, is ball-carrying. 'He had an incredible drive to get better and a practise mentality, the kind Beckham and Cantona have talked about, that you don't see too much in today's game,' Hale says. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion 'Tyler would practise at home in his front room, before school, in the garage, in the garden; he always wanted a ball at his feet. We put a lot of emphasis on ball mastery and starting every single session with a ball each, dribbling, changing direction. Their homework, we almost say, is to get 3,000 touches of the ball every day.' During Covid, Dibling sent videos to his coaches. 'I would be in my little back yard,' he says. 'My dad set up a goal, cones in the corners and I'd be dribbling around them trying to shoot.' In PE lessons, Dibling would drag smaller goals in front of full-size ones to practise free-kicks, recalls his then teacher, Jack Ward. 'Myself and my friends would make it so we only had the corners to aim for and practise for ages,' says Dibling, who lives with Will Merry, another teenage Saints forward, and a former schoolmate. At school Dibling had a Nike sponsorship and gave lots of garments to his best friend, Lewis, who did not have as much as a youngster. 'Ty used to joke: 'Do you want a pair of boots, sir?'' Ward says. 'Looking back, I wish I'd said yes.' Dibling's single‑mindedness was apparent. 'I had conversations with him where it was: 'What's the plan if it doesn't work?'' Ward says. 'He was like: 'I don't have one, this is it.'' At times tough love was required. Martin sent Dibling in early from training on a few occasions last season because it was felt he was not maximising himself. Martin made clear to Wilcox he felt Dibling was the club's best talent but bad habits, perhaps from being the outstanding player in youth matches, had to be ironed out. Last season under-21s staff trained a camera on Dibling to improve his awareness, the clips analysed together. Last summer League Two clubs interested in loaning him voiced reservations about his defensive work, a theory that has not aged well. Martin trusted him to thrive. Dibling shone in pre-season and has single-handedly eclipsed the club target of academy players getting 1,000 senior minutes in this campaign. In one session Charlie Taylor bounced off Dibling and ended on his backside. Memorable moments continue to arrive. Goldie references Dibling's second goal, when he started and finished a move at Crystal Palace, tucking in from a couple of yards out. 'It showed evolution in his game, populating the box, picking up the second ball and putting it away,' Goldie says. At Arsenal he clipped the post with a shot but another phase sticks out. 'Tyler tracked back all the way with [Riccardo] Calafiori, who broke down the wing, and he caught up with him through real work ethic, grit and determination. I think that was a really big moment where the penny dropped around how hard he has to work defensively.' Now some of the world's biggest clubs are taking note. 'At the start of the season I had so much confidence it felt like nobody could stop me,' Dibling says. 'The most surreal moment was scoring against Ipswich. You can see from my celebration that it meant so much. My friends were there, Lewis was there. Scoring in the Premier League just felt crazy.'
