Everton and Aston Villa stars climb up odds as identity of rapper Dide after gruff Sean Dyche response

An Everton and an Aston Villa man have emerged as two new frontrunners to be the face behind the mask of viral rapper Dide.

Premier League fans were sent into a frenzy last week when the rapper dropped his debut track 'Thrill' which details life in the limelight as a football star.

Ever since the song and music video landed on YouTube last week, football lovers have been desperately trying to work out who the anonymous footballer could be - or, indeed, if it is a football star or simply a publicity stunt.

Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah is an odds-on favourite to be the music man with a few other supporters deciding it must be teammate Bukayo Saka or Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha.

However, two stars from clubs outside of London have now risen up the odds table according to bookies.

In the song, Dide opens up about the pressure of living life in the spotlight, brags about big footballing wages and flexes on his playing style.

There's also time for a political dig at Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and an apparent backing of the Knives Down campaign in the lyric "brothers killing brothers just for credit".

The track landed with a music video which shows the rapper performing in his trademark black rose mask as he performs at locations across London.

The video's description added: "Our talented artist dives deep into the emotional turmoil and struggles he keeps hidden from the fans.

"From behind his mysterious rose mask, he proves himself an incredible lyricist, exploring identity, inequality, and modern society in astonishing detail."

Given that information, Fair Betting Sites do believe Nketiah is the masked rapper, but Everton's Alex Iwobi and Aston Villa's Ashley Young are both high up in the odds with 4/1 and 12/1 respectively, despite flying under the radar on social media.

Everton boss Sean Dyche was questioned about the matter in his press conference on Thursday, but didn’t seem too impressed and replied: “Seriously, I can’t catch my breath. That even gets a question?”

A spokesperson for Fair Betting Sites said: “Nketiah is heavy favourite to be revealed as the rapper ‘Dide’. Firstly, the name ‘Dide’ is an almost perfect anagram of Eddie, and secondly, in the debut release ‘Thrill’ – Dide states he is 23, the same age as the Arsenal striker.

"However, many cynics on social media question whether the anonymity of the rapper is just a clever marketing ploy, taking a leaf out of ‘The Masked Singer’s’ playbook – to boost an unknown rapper’s profile.

"Either way, it has football fans desperate to find out the identity of the artist behind the mask.”