Author: dmitriy.vasyura@gmail.com

Russell Martin has laughed off claims that talented winger Tyler Dibling can leave Southampton for £21million.

Dibling has been linked with Manchester United and Aston Villa in a transfer worth £21m but this figure falls way below Southampton’s asking price, with the Saints hoping to agree a new contract with the superb teenager.

His performances have been a real bright spot in an otherwise miserable season for the south coast club, who are bottom of the Premier League with five points from 15 matches.

The 18-year-old joined Chelsea from Southampton in the summer of 2022 but returned to St Mary’s months later after struggling in London.

Having caught the eye in the Premier League this season, particularly in a recent draw against Brighton, Dibling could give a big move another try.

Southampton manager Martin is keen to keep the talented forward, however, and with the most cliche response imaginable, he has said Dibling’s left foot might be worth more than the reported asking price.

“I’m not sure you’ll get his left foot for that,” Martin laughed.

The former Norwich defender continued: “We have offered him a contract, a really good contract for someone his age. At the minute, I don’t think his agent agrees, so that’s where we’re at.

“I think Tyler wants it done, I think Tyler’s parents want it done, so we’ll see how long that takes. There is an option. We can extend. I don’t think we want to do that – we want to reward Tyler for his performances.

“I’ve spoken to Tyler’s mum and dad about it, I’ve spoken to Tyler, but then I’m not involved in any of the negotiations – that’s down to Phil [Parsons, chief executive] and the gang, the owners and Tyler’s agent – and that’s where it gets tricky.”

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The Saints host lowly Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday and Martin had some positive team news.

“Jan Bednarek’s back, Paul Onuachu’s back, which is really good, and apart from that we’re all good,” he told a press conference.

“Al McCarthy’s back fit and Rambo’s [Aaron Ramsdale] very close, he may be back for the Liverpool game but if not the Fulham game after that.”

Spurs have only won one of their last eight matches across all competitions and were fortunate to avoid defeat at Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday, with head coach Ange Postecoglou under severe pressure.

As well as doubling down on his criticism “assessment” of Timo Werner, Postecoglou said he and his players are “in a fight”.

“We’re in a fight here, collectively we’re in a fight,” he told reporters. “I’m not going to go around worrying about people’s bruised egos. We want to achieve things, we want to be successful.

“We’re down to the bare bones in players, if there’s somebody in that dressing room who’s fit, able to contribute, and feels like they need something extra in this moment, he’s probably not the right type.

“We had some last night that understand the situation that we’re in. We’ve got 15 fit players, in some positions we’ve only got two players. I’m not going to go around trying to get extra out of people if they don’t give extra right now. That gives me an indication of where they’re at.

“Whether you’ve got a lack of confidence, lack of belief, whatever it is to say well, are you in this fight? Because we are in a fight.

“We’ve got a limited number of players to call on, some big games coming up, we can set up our season, I just need people to have that level of commitment and application and find their way through. As much as I’m talking about Timo, I’m talking about the whole group.

“The norms of football, poor performance you get left out, they don’t exist in our environment right now. I need players going out there and putting that to one side.”

Gukesh Dommaraju defeated China's Ding Liren and became the youngest world chess champion in history at the age of 18. The Indian prodigy received $2.5 million in prize money and became the second Indian champion after Anand.

An Indian teenager fulfilled his dream of returning the world chess title to India and thanked Mangus Carlsen for winning the championship, UNN reports with reference to Independent.

Details

An Indian prodigy named Gukesh Dommaraju thanked Mangus Carlsen for his victory, which earned him the title of world chess champion. The 18-year-old Dommaraju defeated reigning champion Ding Liren of China in Singapore to become the 18th undisputed world champion in history.

He also became the youngest champion in history, taking the title from Russian grandmaster Garry Kasparov, who was 22 when he won in 1985.

Dommaraju burst into tears after Liren gave his hand in resignation and walked away, shaking his head in disappointment.

After the victory, Dommaraju said that his journey has “just begun” and his goal is to “play at the highest level for as long as possible.

Just because I became world champion doesn't mean I'm the best player in the world. Obviously, there is Magnus Carlsen, and he will always be a motivator for me

– said the winner.

At the age of seven, Dommaraju watched Carlsen defeat Viswanathan Anand as world champion. The 2013 match took place in Dommaraju's hometown of Chennai, and the boy was among the spectators.

“I was in the stands and I thought it would be cool to be there one day,” he said.

And when Magnus won, I thought that I really wanted to bring the title back to India, and this dream that I had more than 10 years ago was the most important thing in my life

Dommaraju said it took him a minute to realize his mistake.

At first I didn't see that I was going to win. When I realized I was winning, it was the best moment of my life

– he said.

This victory made him the second Indian to win the title after Anand.

“This is a moment of pride for chess, a moment of pride for India,” Mr. Anand, the teenager's mentor, wrote on X. ["It's a very personal moment of pride for me.

Congratulations to D. Gukesh on his outstanding achievement. This is the result of his unsurpassed talent, hard work and unwavering determination

– congratulated Dommarajah on his victory, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Reference

Dommaraju was born in the southern metropolis of Chennai, the chess capital of India. However, he did not come from a family of chess players.

His father is a surgeon and his mother is a professor of medicine.It was only after he was enrolled in chess lessons at school that his talent became apparent, and his coaches urged his family to send him for professional training.

In 2019, he was in high school when he became a chess grandmaster, the third youngest in history.

His victory at the World Championships brought him $2.5 million (£1.96 million) in prize money.

Recall

In October 2024, 67-year-old Lyubov Zhyltsova-Lysenko from Kyiv won the World Chess Championship among visually impaired women in India. She scored the maximum 9 points out of 9 possible, winning her 12th world title.