SAINTS manager Russell Martin has challenged starlet Tyler Dibling to "express himself" when he steps into the England under-21 environment for the first time this week.

Dibling, 18, earned his first call-up to interim head coach Ben Futcher's squad to face Spain and the Netherlands in friendly fixtures this week.

Martin described the Saints academy graduate as "the best talent" he's seen in a "long, long time" after his breakout campaign so far.

Dibling, who only made his league debut last season, has featured 11 times for Southampton in the Premier League this season.

He hit his first league goal in a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town and has more recently been used as an impact sub against Everton and Wolves.

"We have a lot of good players but Tyler is incredible," said Martin. "The way he receives the ball under pressure, how strong he is, how brave he is, what he can do with the ball at top speed. 

"We just need to let Tyler be Tyler. It will be interesting to see how he responds to being in a different environment.

"The biggest challenge will be for him to go away and be himself and express himself. For me, he's one of the best young players in the country.

"He's the best talent I've seen for a long, long time. You let us crack on with developing him and keeping him hungry.

Tyler Dibling scored his first Saints goal against Ipswich TownTyler Dibling scored his first Saints goal against Ipswich Town (Image: Richard Crease) "He has an amazing mentality, amazing mentality. And for an 18-year-old, he sets an example in a lot of ways because of the talent he has.

"He backs himself and the confidence he has in a really nice, humble way, he's improving all the time with the other side of the game.

"He needs time, he's 18, there's going to be some bumps. His performance dropped a little bit and we had a chat about this in local press conferences.

"We have to manage him and his minutes, which we will, but we'll enjoy having him whilst we've got him."