Just a few days ago, Sky Sports reported that Southampton had slapped a £55m price tag on Toon target Tyler Dibling.
It’s fair to say Newcastle won’t be going there at that price, especially with our PSR issues at play, but there’s some good news coming from the South Coast ahead of tomorrow’s game.
The latest update coming out of the Saints camp gives Eddie Howe’s side a massive boost as they look to bounce back from their 4-1 home defeat against Bournemouth.
Southampton trio ruled out
Southampton have confirmed that Tyler Dibling (ankle) and Kamaldeen Sulemana (hamstring) will miss tomorrow’s game, with new signing Albert Grønbæk and goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale also doubts.
Young starlet Dibling has been a standout in a largely bleak season for the Saints. He remains a target for the Magpies, dating back to his academy days and is a huge loss for the hosts, who will miss his pace, ball-carrying ability and trickery down their right.
Similarly, Sulemana’s injury is good news for Newcastle another blow to Ivan Juric’s attacking impetus, with the Ghanaian winger causing havoc down the left against Man United and Forest in recent weeks.
Juric, still searching for his first point in the league, made the following comments when issuing an update on his squad’s fitness:
Tyler Dibling – “In this moment we are a little bit more optimistic, we will see next week (if he can return). Next week we can say something more.”
Kamaldeen Sulemana – “He won’t play against Newcastle as he has a little injury. He has a little problem with his hamstring and our medical staff are worried about that because he had problems in the past. I think, I hope, it’s nothing and from Monday he’ll start training with the team.”
Albert Grønbæk (signed from Rennes) – “He has come in as a loan and will be a good option for us to take a look at him for six months. He has only trained once with us today, I think it will be more likely for the next game.”
Aaron Ramsdale – “We had a problem with Rambo, the goalkeeper. He did something yesterday on the training pitch, we will see tomorrow. I hope he will be fine.”
Dibling seems to be ahead of schedule but this Saturday will be a step too soon for the 18-year-old to showcase his talents that have seen him linked with ourselves, Tottenham, Chelsea and Aston Villa this week.
Southampton shipping goals for fun
Southampton have conceded a whopping 15 goals over the course of their five most recent Premier League game, 11 of those in their last three, and have picked up just one point since the start of December.
Alexander Isak had a rare game without scoring against the Cherries and will be licking his lips at the prospect of coming up against a defence that shipped three on their trips Forest and Man United after holding five at St. Mary’s from Brentford.
Juric has lost every single league game in his tenure and, despite showing moments of promise in recent games at Forest (3-2) and Man Utd (3-1), the Saints sit rock bottom and 10 from safety with just six points from 22 games so far.
