Southampton reject Evertons £27m bid for Dibling

Tyler Dibling scored his first Premier League goal against Ipswich Town last September

Everton have had an offer of £27m rejected for 19-year-old Southampton winger Tyler Dibling.

The Toffees retain an interest in the England Under-21 international and are expected to make an improved offer to land the highly-rated attacker.

Dibling has attracted interest from a number of Premier League clubs after scoring twice in 33 Premier League appearances for the relegated Saints last season.

He also scored a double against Swansea City in the third round of the FA Cup in January.

Everton have struggled to strengthen their squad this summer, with manager David Moyes saying the club are "running out" of time to sign players despite having money to spend.

They have signed striker Thierno Barry from Villarreal for £27m, young left-back Adam Aznou from Bayern Munich and reserve keeper Mark Travers, but five experienced starters, including Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Abdoulaye Doucoure, have left the Merseyside club.

Everton failed in their attempt to sign Kenny Tete from Fulham earlier in the transfer window with the Dutch defender opting to sign a new deal at Craven Cottage.

Tyler Dibling gets rave reviews when I speak to senior players and ex-players about him. They see a young English talent who has great potential and huge natural ability.

He has great balance and poise, good power and strength for his age, the ball sticks to his feet when he is dribbling, and he can win free-kicks by sucking defenders in, only to shift the ball away from them in a Jack Grealish style.

Last season was a steep learning curve for Dibling and a tough campaign for a teenager to deal with.

He was brilliant at times, but as the season faded for Southampton it also faded for Dibling as niggling injuries impacted him, as well as the vagaries of trying to play at the highest level week in, week out.

He is a quiet, thoughtful teenager who does not look for the centre stage, but his talent is good enough to demand it in the future if he keeps growing as he has.

Well see what Southampton accept - if Dibling wants to go to Everton.

He went to Chelsea as a youngster but didnt like it and came back to Southampton. It says a lot about what is important to him.