Everton sent Tyler Dibling transfer warning by Southampton chief - 'Bid well'

Everton sent Tyler Dibling transfer warning by Southampton chief - 'Bid well'

With Everton having three bids rejected, Southampton's CEO admits they are open to selling Tyler Dibling but insists he won't depart on the cheap

Everton manager David Moyes watches on as Vitalii Mykolenko and Iliman Ndiaye track Southampton's Tyler Dibling in Goodison Park's last Premier League game on May 18, 2025 (Image: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Southampton chief executive Phil Parsons has addressed Everton’s interest in Tyler Dibling by admitting the Saints are open to selling their prize asset. But he insists the teenage winger will not depart “on the cheap.”

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The ECHO understands that Everton have now made three separate bids for Dibling with the last offer being a package in the region of £45million, which is comparable to the amount they paid Swansea City for club record signing Gylfi Sigurdsson in 2017.

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However, Southampton are demanding £50m and want a 25% sell-on clause with St Mary’s top brass refusing to budge over their price tag despite the 19-year-old asking to leave and being made to avoid contact training with his team-mates so he does not suffer an injury that could scupper a big move.

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Liverpool World cite Parsons as telling BBC Radio Solent’s Fans’ Forum: “I think people in this room are not stupid, and people listening are not silly. They know football, but there is a price for every player.

“We’re not a club that’s going to roll over and just accept a bid because they feel like they want him on the cheap. If you want a player, bid for them and bid well.

“If we lose a player, we need to give Johannes (Spors, sporting director) the funds to replace that player. But it’s really been about cleaning up the squad.

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“We’ve had a really big squad for a couple of years. That’s when it comes to bringing in academy products because that’s a part of who we are.

“We have to produce talent from our academy. We’ll see how the window goes, but if Tyler’s here this season, he’ll play for Southampton.

“He’s not going to sit around. It’s the same for every player.

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“They are under contract at this club, and that’s fair for us. We’ve invested in those players.”

Southampton sporting director Spors, who Parsons references, worked previously under a similar title for 777 Partners, the doomed Miami-based private investment firm who agreed a deal to purchase Farhad Moshiri’s entire controlling stake in Everton in the 2023/24 season only for the Premier League to refuse to give the green light.

While 777’s takeover bid was still ongoing, Spors gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph in December 2023 when he described then Blues boss Sean Dyche as “brilliant,” and added: “The whole Finch Farm training ground is great, the people I’ve met are great.”

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