Recently, Tottenham fans have been given the news that they could be set to allow up to five players to leave the club when January comes around. That may be a long time away, and most of those four they might be happy to let leave, but one of those should almost certainly be set to stay.
Alongside the likes of full-backs Danny Rose and Serge Aurier and midfielders Victor Wanyama and Christian Eriksen, the other man who The Times have put on their list of those who could be on their way out is Eric Dier.
The defensive midfield man is one of those who has a lot of to give when he’s at the top of his gane, yet he simply hasn’t had the minutes as of late. Last season saw the versatile defender/midfielder miss a lot of game time with plenty of different illnesses and injuries and this season the game time hasn’t picked up.
When he’s playing and doing what he does best in the middle of the park just in front of the back four, screening and breaking up play, he’s a top player and a real benefit to a Tottenham side that are usually so creative going forward at the other end of the pitch with the likes of Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.
However, with Dele undoubtedly prepared to get more time to find his feet, Dier should get the same. The rustiness that he’s showing surely isn’t permanent, and if he does get a chance to get back to his best then the Lilywhites would be all the better for it.
Back in what was arguably his best season in 2016/17, as comparing his performances from that year to last season, the midfield man was averaging more tackles and clearances and was dribbled past less often than during last season, as per WhoScored.
If the fans can get that Dier back then they’ll surely improve defensively, and whilst he may not be firing at the moment, no one at Tottenham is so it’s hardly fair to be set to ship out Dier alone, and he should almost certainly get more of a chance.