Tottenham could be about to have another contract saga on their hands, with Eric Dier reportedly hesitant to sign a new deal with the club.
The 26-year-old’s contract will soon enter its final 12 months so Spurs face a sell or invest decision this summer, to avoid more lost transfer income following this year’s Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen disasters.
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The decision could be taken out of the club’s hands, with the Daily Star reporting that Dier will only sign an extension at Spurs if he is given guarantees about playing at centre-half rather than in defensive midfield.
Jose Mourinho started Dier in either a back four or back five in four straight matches before the season’s postponement, and the England international put in a couple of good performances, especially compared to his recent midfield outings which showed the toll injury and illness has had on him.
And while I’ve been happy to humour the Dier at centre-half experiment, I don’t think we can justify offering him a new deal as a full-time defender.
I cannot see Dier establishing himself as a starting centre-half over Toby Alderweireld or Davinson Sanchez, and Mourinho will want to recruit to shore up a defence with the fewest Premier League clean sheets this season.
If we go into next term with Dier on the books and out of the side, we will have another player plummeting in value while he runs his contract down.
It would be another painful goodbye, but we need to move Dier on…