COME the end of the Premier League season, youngsters Tyler Dibling and Mateus Fernandes will make the difference for Saints in one way or another.

As Russell Martin's side tumble towards relegation - no team have survived 10 losses in their first 12 matches - the fate of the team looks more sure.

But if Saints were to pull off their greatest-ever escape this season, 18 year old Dibling and 20 year old Fernandes would have been central to it.

Dibling, the academy's most impressive product for a generation, was the creator of both Southampton goals in Sunday's 3-2 defeat to Liverpool.

He is tactically flexible. Deployed on the right by Martin, where the game is mostly vertical, most of the teenager's tutelage has been in central midfield.

Dibling picked up those familiar areas more against Liverpool, with wing-backs offering Saints width. His future will take him into the middle of the pitch.

And few players are involved in both halves of the pitch more than Fernandes, a £15million recruitment masterstroke amid the Matt O'Riley saga.

He engaged in and won more defensive duels than any Saints player and completed 100 per cent of his forward passes and passes into the final third.

Fernandes became the 50th Portuguese player to score in the Premier League on Sunday, with Portugal being the 11th nation to reach that mark.

"They're really talented," said Martin. "Their skill set is being brave, taking it in tight areas and beating their player. They're getting better and better all the time."

Martin's next comment seemed to suggest Dibling and Fernandes are only imposing themselves in the manner they are because of his philosophy.

"I think they have to play in a certain team in a certain way right now at their age to flourish and to show what they can do," added the boss. 

"If you put them in a different team that is fighting down the bottom, maybe they look very different or they're not playing because their skill set is not suited."

Egotism or a hands-off transfer warning to any potential suitors? You can debate that amongst yourselves but there can be no argument about his conclusion.

"They have an amazing mentality and they will keep growing with us or they'll outgrow the club and the club will benefit hugely from that," he said.

A word of warning before you read on. This is not an attempt to 'flog' Saints players to the highest bidder, it is just a realistic discussion.

Should Saints be relegated in May, neither Dibling nor Fernandes will be short of offers. Managers of top Premier League sides have already taken notice.

Even if Saints survive, there will be offers - but the club will have a much stronger negotiating stance with both their rivals and the players themselves.

Following relegation from the Premier League in 2023, Saints had to sell to balance the books,  create a competitive squad and avoid financial catastrophe.

Romeo Lavia (£53million), Tino Livramento (£32m), James Ward-Prowse (£30m), Nathan Tella (£20m) and Mohammed Salisu (£15m) were all sold. 

They have taken a careful approach upon re-entry to the top flight with a transfer fee cap and a more sensible wage structure to mitigate relegation's impact.

But inevitably Saints will still have to bring in funds to make up the gap between top-flight and second-division finances and allow player ambition.

In an ideal world, Dibling - who has already left Saints for the top six once and decided to come back - and Fernandes opt to remain at St Mary's.

In modern football, some believe the ideal is fanciful. Supporters have become accustomed to enjoying their best initially but accepting their step upwards.

Fernandes or Dibling's potential sales alone could hold the key to Saints maintaining a competitive squad for another instant promotion push.

It is reasonable to suggest they should be worth well over £70million combined and the vast majority of that would be pure profit on the books.

That kind of financial muscle should allow Saints to keep Championship-proven Jan Bednarek, Flynn Downes, Cameron Archer and Adam Armstrong.

England internationals Aaron Ramsdale and Taylor Harwood-Bellis will also draw interest but the turmoil should be nothing like Saints encountered last summer.

When Martin suggests the club may "benefit hugely" from Fernandes and Dibling, whether they are enough to save this season, that is what he means.

Football is not played in the cheque books and money to spend does not guarantee success but dropping to the Championship with no sellable assets is fatal.

But for now, the task is to keep talents like those here and do everything that is required for that. For fans, your task is much easier - merely enjoy them.