Mateus Fernandes bids farewell as Southampton 'superstar' exit news confirmed
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(Credit: Imago)
Jonathan Burnett
Tue 26 August 2025 9:19, UK
Southampton have confirmed the £40million departure of one of last season’s star players after Everton won a long-running transfer battle.
Saints’ relegation straight back to the Championship last season came with just 12 points and very few positives, but the performances of Mateus Fernandes and Tyler Dibling were a shining light for fans.
Fernandes has attracted attention despite only joining Southampton last summer, and Football Insider revealed on 12 August that West Ham and Atletico Madrid were preparing formal bids for the midfielder.
The Portuguese isn’t the only promising attacker to draw interest in the wake of Saints’ relegation, and after Dibling’s price tag was reduced from £100million by Southampton, the teenager has finally sealed his highly-anticipated exit.
Fernandes and Tyler Dibling have attracted a lot of attention this summer (Credit: Imago)
Dibling’s future has been subject to speculation since he made his Premier League debut last August, as Tottenham and Man United declared their interest long before Southampton’s demise became a reality.
The 19-year-old’s long-running transfer saga is finally over though, after Everton agreed a fee of roughly £42m with Saints to bring the promising playmaker to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on a four-year contract.
Dibling is expected to complete a new-look Everton attack which also features Jack Grealish, but before joining up with his new team-mates, the teenager sent an emotional farewell message on Instagram.
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He said: “Thank you Saints.
From joining as an 8 year old to making my debut and playing in the Premier League, I am grateful and proud of the past 11 years.
Ty”.
Another exit-linked player in Fernandes responded to Dibling’s post on Monday, saying: “I wish you all the best my superstar”.
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Dibling and Fernandes may have been two of very, very few silver linings in a dismal return to the Premier League for Southampton, but Saints do look set to raise significant funds from this summer’s departures.
Paul Onuachu, Kamaldeen Sulemana and Jan Bednarek have also been sold in the window to fund moves for the likes of Brentford‘s Mads Roerslev, and Fernandes looks set to be the next big name out the door.
West Ham fans have demanded David Sullivan to “get serious” after their initial bid of just £30m for Fernandes was rejected, but Southampton are well-placed to drive a hard bargain after Dibling’s own big-money move.
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