The Sun’s Martin Lipton has suggested that the reason Tottenham decided against selling Eric Dier is that he is a very popular member of the changing room.
Dier is seemingly not in Ange Postecoglou’s plans at the moment, with the centre-back not having played a single minute of football so far this season.
While some sources have suggested that the defender would want to leave on a free transfer next summer (Alasdair Gold – Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham), there seems to be no shortage of interest in his services ahead of January.
Sporting Lisbon are thought to be exploring a move to re-sign the England international (The Times) while Jose Mourinho is alleged to be keen on reuniting with the player at AS Roma (TuttoSport via Corriere Giallo Rosso).
Football Insider asserted on Saturday that the 29-year-old is now ready to quit Tottenham after the latest round of contract talks collapsed.
Lipton has now told Off The Ball about the centre-back’s situation: “Eric Dier is an interesting one, he’s in the squad every week, he’s just not playing. He’s a popular player, he’s very popular with the other players, he always has been.
“I think that’s one of the reasons he stayed actually. He’s a bit like Conor Coady at the World Cup it seems, he’s not going to play but he’s there for what he gives the group.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While Dier’s leadership qualities might have played a role in Tottenham’s decision to hang on to the defender, I suspect that the main reason was that the player simply did not want to leave in the summer and was keen on fighting for his place in the side.
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