Lee Hendrie puts Tyler Dibling's talent in parallel with the 2024/25 Championship player of the season Gustavo Hamer.
Admit it or not, but listening to the retro Philippe Coutinho escape, all Southampton fans have been thanking their luck ever since morning. Now, they didn't utilise that transfer fund very wisely, but at least they didn't get stained with ending a superstar's career in Coutinho.
Safe to say, with this little win, Southampton avenged a part of the consecutive defeats from Aston Villa since 2022, which haven't been affected by Coutinho's move at all.
Now, it speaks loudly of the notorious relationship that Villa and Southampton have had these recent years. Yet, what's surprising is that this hasn't translated to any off-the-field exchanges between them.
A perfect example of this has been Aston Villa legend Lee Hendrie's fondness for Saints prodigy Tyler Dibling.
Recently, opining about Dibling's future, pundit Hendrie made a bold statement, which will excite all Saints fans. Interestingly, he drew parallels with the teenager's talent alongside Championship Player of the Season winner, Gustavo Hamer.
Speaking to Football League World, Hendrie commented on Dibling: “You'd put him in a category with the likes of Gustavo Hamer - the players who have really proved that they would stand out in the Championship, and this boy's got massive, massive potential."
Southampton must take key notes from Hendrie's Dibling praise
Honestly, for the Saints fans who have seen Dibling steer them to multiple recognitions, this praise wouldn't surprise them. Instead, this statement should serve the purpose of enhancing the club's stance on Dibling.
Even now, many clubs are actively looking for Dibling's signature, and should Southampton decide to sell him, it shouldn't come cheap.
In fact, the Saints mustn't sell him to a Championship rival club directly. This way, not only do they end the possibility of ending up on the wrong side of Hendrie's prediction, but they can also use this selectivity to negotiate better with Top Flight clubs for a big sale.