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?
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.
