Sources: West Ham up against it in £55m battle to land talented 18-year-old | OneFootball

West Ham are known for their attractive football and bringing through brilliant young talent, however, they’ll struggle to land one of their main January target’s, Southampton’s £40m-rated 18-year-old, Tyler Dibling.

Despite the Saints languishing at the foot of the Premier League table, sources have told CaughtOffside that they are unwilling to let the midfielder leave this month.

Furthermore, Southampton have slapped a £55m price tag on Dibling to ensure that any clubs trying to poach him will think twice before doing so.

Tyler Dibling unlikely to stay at Southampton

They include, according to information that CaughtOffside sources have received, RB Leipzig, Manchester United, Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle United and Aston Villa as well as the Hammers.

Tyler Dibling of Southampton celebrates scoring his team’s third goal with team-mates against Swansea City.(Photo by Hewitt/Getty Images)

Sources have also advanced that of those clubs, only Leipzig have made a bid at this point, though it’s fair to say that their £30m offer was treated with contempt by the Premier League’s basement boys.

Dibling has been widely acclaimed for his recent performances in the English top-flight, despite Southampton struggling badly since their promotion from the Championship.

Though it isn’t clear if they will be successful, the Saints are actually planning to extend the midfielder’s contract until 2029.

It’s understood that Dibling is stalling on signing that deal, which would suggest that he too sees his future away from St. Mary’s Stadium.

With 10 days left of the current window, there’s still plenty of time for a deal to be done.

A number of clubs want Southampton’s Tyler Dibling

Given the likelihood of the player leaving in the summer, Southampton do need to think very carefully about their next move.

Get a decent amount for him now, or lose him for much less if, as sources expect, he continues to refuse to commit to the club.

Once potential buying clubs understand that he does indeed want a move away, his value will plummet.

There’s little chance of Southampton staying up at this point. They are already 10 points from safety, with difficult fixtures against the likes of Newcastle, Brighton, Chelsea and Liverpool upcoming.

Therefore, any monies that they can bank at this point will surely benefit them in their expected push for promotion from the Championship next season.