Chelsea have secret weapon to sign £100m 'future England star' this summer

Premier League clubs are changing their approaches to transfers in this new era of Financial Fair Play (FFP), and Chelsea are no different.

Once upon a time, elite clubs would only spend the big bucks for players who were already the finished product. Yes, there had to be some potential to grow into but it was imperative that you could do it immediately.

Heading into this summer, the priorities have changed. Now, clubs are happy to spend big money on young players who have not accomplished much to date because their potential and sell-on value is so great. The next young superstar to go for big money looks set to be Tyler Dibling.

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According to reports, the Saints want £100m to allow the 19-year-old to leave this summer and with his contract set to run until 2027, they could hold out for that money. However, Southampton's relegation to the Championship could force them to sell the teenager for less than their valuation.

If Dibling was to go on to achieve what his former Russell Martin thinks he is capable of, then £100m could be seen as reasonable. "Tyler has every capability to play for and at the top level for a very long time because he’s powerful, really quick, both-footed, and he has a physicality where players just bounce off him," the ex-Premier League manager told .

"He has something about him that I’ve not seen in a British player for a very long time, to play in the middle of the park and to be able to swivel and go. He’ll play as a number eight or ten eventually, but he can play out wide too and even false nine, he played false nine for us in pre-season and he was our best player.

"He’s an amazing young man but he needs the right style of play and environment to really thrive. I don’t think he’ll be cheap but he’ll be worth every penny."

With such potential, it is unsurprising that are one of several clubs keeping tabs on Dibling ahead of the summer transfer window. But unlike those other teams, the Blues could have a secret weapon to sign the forward.

In 2022, Dibling spent time with Chelsea's academy before moving back to the South Coast where he would make his senior breakthrough. Despite being with the Blues for a short time, it appears he made long-term friends.

On Thursday night, he interacted with Tyrique George after the winger scored in Chelsea's 3-0 victory over Legia Warsaw. Potentially, these connections with current stars at Stamford Bridge can persuade Dibling that a move to west London is in his best interests.

Chelsea will need to be quick though as the race for Dibling is going to be cut-throat.