Sky Sports pundit slams Southampton demands amid Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes exit talks

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Southampton duo Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes are wanted by Premier League sides.

Southampton beat Northampton Town 1-0 on Tuesday evening in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

The Saints have also made a victorious start to the domestic season with their 2-1 comeback win over Wrexham on Saturday afternoon.

Jack Stephens scored a late winner for Southampton to secure three points in Will Still’s first league game in charge.

Unfortunately for Still, the future of two in-demand Saints stars, Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes, hangs in the balance, and one Sky Sports pundit has questioned “how easy” Southampton are to deal with.

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Southampton slammed for Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling values

West Ham were set to bid for Fernandes earlier this week, and reports emerged on Tuesday afternoon that Southampton rejected West Ham’s Fernandes bid of £30m.

Southampton once valued Fernandes at around £30m. Now, the Saints will only consider offers in the region of £50m, almost doubling their previous valuation for the midfielder who scored the winner against Northampton.

Fernandes’ fellow in-demand teammate Dibling is wanted by Everton and the winger has been training away from the main group at Southampton due to the ongoing transfer talks.

EFL Analysis exclusively revealed last week that Everton and Southampton have hit a £5m hurdle in Dibling talks.

Now, former Tottenham defender Michael Dawson has questioned “how easy Southampton are to deal with” amid the exit talks regarding the duo.

He told Sky Sports on Tuesday evening: “I think that’s what Will Still is going to have to deal with at this moment in time until the transfer window finishes on the 1st of September.

“Fernandes, you look at Tyler Dibling, Fernandes is playing tonight. You’re talking about a £30million bid from West Ham and he wants £50million.

“I’m not too sure how easy Southampton are to deal with. You’re wanting £45million for Tyler Dibling and you’re wanting £50 million for Fernandes. Wow, they got 12 points last year.

“They need a big improvement this year from Will Still and he’s going to have the pressure of that.

“That’s going to be human nature with everyone. Relegated from the Premier League, can we get promoted again? So that’s what Will Still is going to have to deal with.”

After the cup victory, Still heaped praise on Fernandes for his professionalism amid his potential departure.

• READ MORE: Southampton star ‘wants’ Saints to accept £6.9m bid from European giants as asking price emerges

What Will Still said about Mateus Fernandes after Southampton vs Northampton

21-year-old Fernandes scored the winner in the cup clash with an early strike in the second half, just hours after West Ham’s opening £30m bid for the Portuguese star was rejected by Southampton.

As quoted by the Daily Echo, Still said: “He’s top, he’s top. I think he’d missed quite a bit of football, which is understandable, but since we’ve brought him back in, he came on and made an impact on Saturday.

“He’s back in the group, he’s back among the camaraderie. He scored a great goal tonight.  We probably could have scored two or three more.

“I’m not quite sure why we’ve missed the one in the first half or couple in the first half. But we also know that he’s got that quality in him, he can make that difference, so it’s a positive.”

With Atletico Madrid tracking Fernandes as well as the Hammers, his stunning winner against Northampton could be his final goal in a Southampton jersey.