Gold Gives Update On Spurs Defender
da pinup bet: Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier is "desperate to prove himself" to Spurs' new manager Ange Postecoglou but having just a year left on his deal could be a problem, claims journalist Alasdair Gold.
Is Eric Dier leaving Tottenham Hotspur?
da bet vitoria: The Lilywhites have been doing some good business so far this summer.
Not only have they managed to keep hold of their superstar striker Harry Kane – for now – but they have also added strength and depth to the squad as a whole.
The big-name signing so far has undoubtedly been James Maddison, who joined the north London outfit for a relatively reasonable fee of £40m from relegated Leicester City, but the signings of Manor Solomon and Guglielmo Vicario also represent good business.
The one area the club are yet to improve upon – and one they really need to – is in central defence, where the personnel has remained the same, other than the absence of Clement Lenglet, who has been linked with a return.
According to The Telegraph, one of those defenders – who does not want to leave the club – is former England international Dier.
The 29-year-old is one of the players Daniel Levy would be willing to sell this summer, but despite having just a year remaining on his current deal, he wants to stay and fight for a place under Postecoglou, per Alasdair Gold.
He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:
"It's an interesting situation with Eric Dier, really. He's desperate to prove himself to Postecoglou as a fully fit player and he is excited about playing under Postecoglou. But then, the other side to it, of course, is that he's only got a year left on his contract.
"So it's whether they tie him down to a new contract, which I'm sure would not go down well with some Spurs fans."
Should Tottenham Hotspur sell Eric Dier?
With just a single year left on his deal and his desire to remain in north London, the Lilywhites have a decision to make. Should they stick by the player and see if he earns himself a new deal, or should they do what they can to force him out?
The first thing to say is that last season, as disastrous as the Tottenham team was – especially the backline – he wasn't any worse than his teammates. In fact, he was probably one of the better defenders in the side.
According to WhoScored, he averaged a rating of 6.66 across his 33 Premier League games last season, which on its own is a reasonably decent campaign, while it was the second-highest rating for a central defender in the squad, only behind Christian Romero.
Again, his underlying numbers are nothing spectacular but solid across the board and suggest that he would be a great squad player to keep around.
According to FBref, which compares players across Europe's top five leagues, the Cheltenham-born defender sits in the top 19% for attempted passes, the top 21% for total shots, the top 23% for non-penalty expected goals, the top 24% for aerials duels won, and the top 27% for progressive passes received per 90.
He was also a player that former boss Antonio Conte was a big fan of, with the Italian once saying:
"We are talking about a reliable player, 100 per cent focused in every game. He is not a player who alternates with a big performance then a drop. He is providing great continuity in his role and playing every game.
"I can also tell you he is a really good guy, with great will, desire to work and improve. He knows he has space for improvement and I see every day in his eyes the desire to become stronger, to become a top defender."
Dier probably isn't quite of the level to make it as a starting centre-back for a title-chasing team anymore, but that isn't what Spurs are at the moment, and keeping him around, at least as a squad player, seems like the best option.