Ange Postecoglou provides update on Eric Dier future at Tottenham after Brentford absence
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou insists Eric Dier “is part of this team” despite his absence from their Premier League opener against Brentford on Sunday (13 August).
The England defender was one of several first-team players not to make the squad as Spurs secured a 2-2 draw in their first competitive appearance under Postecoglou.
Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele were also nowhere to be seen, with Spurs seemingly still keen to trim their squad before the transfer window slams shut.
Dier was later linked with a move to the lucrative Saudi Pro League with Al Nassr, though Football London journalist Alasdair Gold quickly shot down those rumours on Twitter.
And Postecoglou, in quotes reported by the Independent (14 August), insists Dier is part of his plans moving forward.
“Eric is part of this team. We left a few out,” Postecoglou said. “We left some players on the bench that are very good players. We need a strong squad, it’s not about 11 players.
“Eric is in the same boat as all the other boys. He’s working hard in training and available for selection.
“My decisions then are what I think will give us the best chance of success for any given game and then we reassess the week after. Nothing really unusual there.”
A Dier situation for Eric
It is hard to take Postecoglou at face value with this one.
Not necessarily the part where Dier is working hard in training and doing what he can to break into the team, no one at Spurs – regardless of their thoughts on his quality – would ever really doubt that he gives his all for the cause.
But Postecoglou spoke throughout pre-season about the need to sign defenders, with Micky van de Ven having already been brought in from Wolfsburg and Spurs potentially looking at bringing in another central defender.
Consider too that another exit-linked player in the form of Davinson Sanchez did make the squad, and even entered the fray when Cristian Romero had to be taken off shortly after scoring the opening goal.
It means Dier is already well down the pecking order in Postecoglou’s mind, and that situation could worsen if he does dip back into the transfer market to provide further competition for Romero and Van de Ven.
With Euro 2024 taking place at the end of the season, Dier can ill-afford a campaign not playing regular football if he wants to make Gareth Southgate’s squad for the tournament in Germany (provided England qualify but the Three Lions are four from four in their group).
At this juncture, it probably makes sense for Dier to ask to move on and seek some regular minutes because they don’t look likely to arrive at Spurs this season.
In other Tottenham news, James Maddison’s impressive debut versus Brentford is exactly what Spurs have been crying out for.