Liverpool make first move to sign £100m star

It’s all going on down Anfield Road.

Liverpool‘s business stretch should be a processional march toward the Premier League title, 12 points ahead of second-place Arsenal. However, it ain’t over til the fat lady sings, something those of a Reds persuasion will know only too well.

There’s plenty of noise coming from Liverpool circles right now, and understandably so. Trent Alexander-Arnold is all but set to leave for Real Madrid when his contract expires at the end of the term, while the futures of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah remain up in the air.

Ultimately, Los Blancos usually get what they want, adding Trent to a list of recent Bosmans including Antonio Rudiger and Kylian Mbappe. For sporting director Richard Hughes, business as usual. He’s got plenty to do on the incoming front, but just as much in regard to sorting out those who need to be sold.

Who Liverpool need to sell this summer

On Wednesday evening, news broke that Newcastle United have placed Jarell Quansah at the top of their list of targets for the summer.

The Liverpool centre-back, 21, has been reduced to a bit-part role under Arne Slot and – we’re all thinking it – such a sale could be used to facilitate a move for Alexander Isak (we can dream).

While Conor Bradley stands a swinging chance of stepping into Trent’s boots next year, signing a left-back is one of Slot’s most urgent demands; indeed, Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez is being pursued and pointers suggest this one may come to fruition.

This would mean one of Andy Robertson or Kostas Tsimikas would need to leave. The defenders combine for around £235k per week, so adding a hungry third to the mix wouldn’t make sense without concessions.

Up top, much more uncertainty reigns. Salah may yet leave (perish the thought) and the general profligacy of Liverpool’s other forwards calls for dramatic action. That is to say, the likes of Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz are all endangered species on Merseyside, surely playing for their future over these final weeks of the campaign.

While it would be ridiculous to allow all of these attacking players to leave, some certainly will. Liverpool, of course, will need to strengthen, and a fast-rising star has been added to the wish list as the window prepares to swing its shutters wide.

Liverpool lining up new forward

According to the Daily Mail

, Liverpool have begun work on a new signing, making their first enquiries about Southampton teenager Tyler Dibling, with the fleet-footed winger attracting significant attention as the transfer window draws near.

Interest in the youngster is fierce. Southampton are effectively condemned to relegation from the Premier League in their first season back but Dibling, 19, has shone throughout.

Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are also regarded as firm suitors, but the reality is many, many more will want a shot at his signature.

And that signature, by the way, won’t come cheap. The England U21 international is actually reported to be worth a mind-boggling £100m, a valuation Saints are headset on maintaining through the summer months.

What Liverpool should do about Tyler Dibling

Dibling is a terrific young player, proving through his breakout season that he’s got the skill, athleticism and confidence to succeed at the highest level.

Fast-tracked to the front of the Southampton hierarchy, Dibling has scored four goals and added two assists across 30 matches in all competitions, but in truth, numbers reveal little more than the prologue of his season.

Remarked to be an “unreal talent” by analyst Ben Mattinson, Dibling’s dribbling ability and willingness to take on fearsome Premier League defenders has earned him acclaim. Moreover, a youthful knack for competing across a range of positions has allowed Russell Martin and then Ivan Juric to maximise his output.

Dibling has completed 39 dribbles in the top flight this season, ranking him joint-16th in the division with one fewer carry than Liverpool’s Diaz. This may not appear particularly noteworthy, but he’s a force of forward drive who continuously looks to make things happen in an outfit where not much positivity goes on at all.

He also ranks among the top 5% of Premier League wingers for fouls drawn per 90, as per FBref, an eel-like running style to leave opponents unstuck, forced into hacking him down.

But there’s an elephant in the room, one which suggests Liverpool should not actually move to sign Dibling. Let’s revisit Southampton’s financial demands: payment totalling £100m.

This would mean Liverpool need to break the bank to sign a largely untested teenager with little assurance that he will meet that lofty valuation down the line.

Dibling might be combative and electric, but he’s only created two big chances across the Premier League campaign, as per Sofascore, yet to assist.

To sign Dibling in keeping with St. Mary’s current demands, Liverpool would eclipse the club-record £85m fee paid to Benfica for Nunez’s services in 2022.

Nunez, who was 22 at the time, was hand-picked by Jurgen Klopp following a stunning 2021/22 campaign that saw him fire 34 goals from 41 matches for the Eagles, including two in the Champions League against Liverpool.

Having come close to leaving Liverpool for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr in the summer, the Uruguay international is expected to be sold at the end of the season, having scored just seven times under Slot’s wing and with just eight Premier League starts besides, scarcely missing any football due to injury or illness this term.

In hindsight, Liverpool paid over the odds on an untested talent who was ostensibly tasked with replacing Roberto Firmino in the long term. Now, Dibling may well be taking Salah’s long-held place on the right flank, and is this really a move to ignite the requisite output needed to stay at the front of the European pack?

Moreover, with Ben Doak, also 19, enjoying such a fine season on loan with Middlesbrough in the Championship, is there really just cause to lodge such a mammoth figure on a player of a similar ilk, one who may actually hamper the Scotland international’s development?

When Southampton fall, there’s a chance that they will be forced into lowering their valuation, but unless it’s far more affordable, giving Liverpool plenty of room for investment elsewhere, this may be one Liverpool need to accept they won’t win.