Antonio Conte has been mocked after he compared Spurs defender Eric Dier to Juventus legend Leonardo Bonucci.
Dier joined Tottenham Hotspur from Sporting Lisbon in 2014. The 28-year-old has made over 300 appearances for Spurs and while he started his career as a defensive midfielder, he has been transformed into a center-back.
Speaking about Dier, who has been called up to the England national team by Gareth Southgate this month, Conte said (via Express h/t Football 365) :
“If you compare him with some of these important central defenders, don’t forget Eric started his career as a midfielder.
“In modern football it means you can use him as a central defender but also as a number four. With the ball, Bonucci can be a really good example for him. But Bonucci did a lot in his career.”
“Eric has just started this process, but for sure Leo is a really good example for him because we are talking about an important player.”
“He won a lot with Juventus and the national team. I hope Eric can have this type of career. Since I arrived [at Tottenham] I found many players with not much confidence. There is only one way, to try to raise this confidence.
“Especially with the players where you understand there is this quality and the space to make these players work and get them to an important level.
“Eric is one of those players. But I repeat for him this has to be only the start. Otherwise, I will be very angry with him.”
The comments attracted criticism from TalkSport pundit Tony Cascarino. He said:
“He’s had a decent start to the season but comparing him to Bonucci is a bit of a long one for me at the moment, I’d hold back on that one.”
“I wouldn’t have that he’s as versatile as Bonucci, maybe he was a failed midfielder more than a midfielder, he didn’t pull up any trees. I think he’s not bad, I’m still reserved in my opinion over the course of a season on Dier.”
To be fair on Conte, he never actually outright compared Dier with Bonucci but just mentioned that the Juve legend as an example that Dier should follow. And he is spot on – Dier must continue to improve. He’s still a long way from being able to become anywhere near as good as someone like Bonucci, but he has the potential to become a great defender if he listens to his manager.