Manchester United have been led to believe that Eric Dier would like to join them from Tottenham this summer, according to ESPN FC.
The sports site claim that boyhood United fan Dier, 23, is increasingly attracted to the possibility of swapping White Hart Lane for Old Trafford in the coming weeks before the transfer window shuts.
ESPN FC report that the Europa League and League Cup holders will push on with a bid to sign the versatile midfielder despite the difficulties of negotiating a deal with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.
It is said that United are encouraged by the stance of Dier, who admitted when he was at former club Sporting Lisbon that it would be “very difficult” to turn down United if an offer ever came in.
Manager Jose Mourinho has instructed vice-chairman Ed Woodward to sign a midfield anchorman this summer after spending a combined £120million on striker Romelu Lukaku and defender Victor Lindelof.
Dier has emerged as the number one target ahead of Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic and Monaco’s Tiemoue Bakayoko, and United are willing to spend £50million to prise him from White Hart Lane.
Tottenham chairman Levy does not want to sell Dier but could find it hard to resist such an enormous bid as the club need to meet the costs of paying for their £800million new stadium that will completed in time for the 2018-19 season.
Dier signed a new five-year contract last September worth around £70,000-a-week but Mourinho could tempt him with a deal worth more than double that, which Spurs could not compete with.
It would be a sensational move given that Tottenham’s young and vibrant team are on the up, finished four places above United in last season’s Premier League and Dier has been at the heart of their dramatic improvement in the last two campaigns.
With Kyle Walker potentially also heading to Manchester City, there would be mutiny on the White Hart Lane terraces if they lost another first team mainstay, although a reported striker hijack may sweeten the pain for supporters.