Tottenham Hotspur fans have not seen hide nor hair of Eric Dier in the first two weeks of the transfer window. The long-tenured central defender was not named to Ange Postecoglou’s matchday squad in either of Tottenham’s first two matches against Brentford and Manchester United, and you’d think that would be a pretty strong indication that Dier’s days wearing a Spurs shirt are likely numbered.
Indeed, according to the Athletic transfer news tracker written by Charlie Eccleshire, Dier is strongly linked with a move away from Tottenham, though his destination is somewhat murky. Dier is now in the final year of his contract at Spurs, and while he’s been offered a new deal in the past nothing has come of it. Eccleshire says Dier is open to leaving Tottenham, but prefers a free transfer exit next summer to being sold permanently.
The report also states that Dier would be open to a loan, which for Spurs would more or less be the same as letting him go on a free next summer, but with the added bonus of not having to pay his wages. But they wouldn’t get a transfer fee for him, no matter how small. Fulham has reportedly shown some interest in him as a replacement for Tosin Adarabioyo, who is strongly linked with AS Monaco (but also, still, Spurs) but it remains to be seen if that’s a connection that will bear any fruit.
I dunno. I’m not a huge fan of ripping up contracts, but this does seem like a scenario where Spurs could do just that — pay him off for the final year of his deal, thank him for his service to the club, and let him go. I don’t know if they WILL, but if we reach the last few days of the transfer window and his future isn’t sorted I can see that as a possibility. There also exists the chance that he could stay at Spurs on the fringes of the squad and leave on a free this summer. All options are in play.
But Dier is almost certainly on the list of fringe players that Spurs would like to do SOMETHING with before the window closes, as he’s kind of low-hanging fruit when it comes to trimming a bloated squad. Hopefully they figure it out, for everyone’s sake.
