Journalist Sami Mokbel has claimed that Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier is keen to stay at the club beyond the summer as he’s excited to work under Ange Postecoglou.
Mokbel spoke on the Last Word on Spurs yesterday as he provided an update on Tottenham’s summer transfer window.
Spurs announced their third signing of the window last night as they snapped up James Maddison from Leicester City, after making Dejan Kulusevski’s loan switch a permanent one and bringing in goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.
Tottenham are expected to switch their focus to their backline after they struggled defensively last season.
They’ve been heavily linked with moves for the likes of Edmond Tapsoba and Micky van de Ven, but they face the task of trimming a bloated squad in the coming weeks.
Dier endured a difficult campaign last time out as he made multiple errors leading to goals.
The 29-year-old has struggled for form after making a promising start to the last campaign and receiving a call-up to the England squad.
The Athletic reported just last month that Dier could end up leaving on a free transfer next summer as he approaches the end of his contract at Spurs.
But Mokbel has claimed that Dier is keen to stay and fight for his place at Spurs under Postecoglou.
Dier doesn’t want to leave
The journalist shared an update on Dier’s future and despite claims he could end up leaving this summer, Mokbel expects him to stay in North London.
“Centre-back is an area they definitely want to strengthen, 100 per cent,” he said. “On that point actually, I would like to add there’s been a lot of talk of this summer about Eric Dier possibly leaving the club.
“My understanding of that situation is that Eric Dier actually wants to stay and he wants to fight for his place. He’s actually looking forward to working with Ange Postecoglou next season.”
Mokbel also believes Postecoglou will benefit from keeping the likes of Dier around in his first season as an experienced option.
“Unless there’s a change of heart, I think we can expect him to stay,” he added.
Dier has received plenty of criticism over the past year due to some lacklustre performances in a Tottenham shirt.
But it would make sense for Spurs to keep hold of him for a season as Postecoglou bids to re-shape his squad.
The likes of Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga are both facing uncertain futures at the club, while it remains unclear whether Spurs will move to sign Clement Lenglet permanently.
Spurs are certainly in need of an overhaul at centre-back, but it seems unrealistic to think they will upgrade every player in the position bar Cristian Romero this summer.
