Eric Dier Destined For Tottenham’s Bench
By Ryan Wrenn
When Eric Dier was acquired by Tottenham last season from Sporting Lisbon it was thought that he’d be groomed to someday occupy the starting centre-back position alongside Jan Vertonghen. The young Englishman had lived in Portugal since he was a child and had played his entire career up to that point at various levels of Sporting’s system, including the first team. It’s rare at all to see an English soccer player ply his trade on the continent, much less grow up through the young ranks of a foreign team.
Whether it was through natural ability or the quality of Sporting’s academy, Dier began to blossom early. Only 18 when he earned a starting role in Sporting’s first team, he turned in performances that caught the eye of several English clubs eager to bolster their ranks with young talent. Tottenham were fortunate to win that race with their successful £4 million fee last summer.
Dier’s relatively brief tenure at Tottenham has thus far seen him occupy three different roles, each with an impressive degree of success. He scored on his debut appearance as he filled in for the injured rightback Kyle Walker. As Tottenham’s season became jeopardized by an all-too-shaky defense, he was slid to the left to partner alongside Jan Vertonghen at centre-back. And finally, on Tottenham’s opening match of the season against Manchester United last weekend, he capably patrolled the midfield area ahead of the defense.
None of these positions – or the frequency at which he is rotated around them – is new to Dier. At Sporting he was similarly utilized as a renaissance man on the pitch. That versatility is a fairly vital cog in Spurs wheel, but it’s the kind of skillset that more or less ensures that Dier is more valuable on the bench than he is in the starting XI.
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His talent in all of those positions mean that he can, in effect, save two spots on Spurs’ seven man bench just by being on it. So while the more devoted position players might earn a start, Dier is always waiting to do a job when needed.
The problem is that Dier, while good at each of the roles he’s been asked to fill, isn’t great. He is outshined at rightback by Kyle Walker and outclassed at centre-back by new arrival Toby Alderweireld. Though he played well in defensive midfield last Saturday, there’s no denying that a more devoted player in the position would suit Tottenham better. The rumors that link German international Sven Bender to the club don’t do much to enhance Dier’s prospects.
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It’s difficult to speculate how long Spurs can hope to keep Dier in this lopsided limbo that favors their interests much more than the player’s. He’s bound to become impatient if a starting opportunity doesn’t materialize at some point. Pochettino and his coaching staff no doubt realize that and will make what accommodations they can.
In the end, though, it seems impractical for both club and player to hope that Dier will evolve to be a better option than the current locked-in starters. Vertonghen is among the oldest players in the first team at this point but that doesn’t mean he’s all that close to retirement. The chances that Dier demands a move elsewhere seem higher at the moment than the club wanting to move on from Vertonghen. Which is unfortunate, because by losing Dier Spurs would lose arguably one of the best toolkits in the Premier League.