Tottenham Hotspur

Dier has thrived in midfield role

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Image for Dier has thrived in midfield role

OPINION

Eric Dier has become a utility player at Tottenham in the past couple of seasons, with his versatility seeing him fill in holes for both the defence and attacker.

Mauricio Pochettino considers the 23-year-old to be a vital member of the squad due to his flexibility and he has always been a mainstay in the side.

He excelled in a defensive midfield role during the 2015/16 campaign when Spurs challenged eventual champions Leicester for the Premier League title and that is his preferred position.

However, he was frequently used as a centre-back last season and in truth his performances were bang average.

The England international had to adjust quickly between defensive and midfield roles, but he never really looked comfortable.

Dier did an adequate job as part of a three-man defence, but most players would find it comfortable alongside centre-backs Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertognhen.

It was an error from Pochettino to push the Englishman into a defensive role last season and he should have allowed him to compete for a midfield position.

However, Pochettino has fixed his own mistake by buying centre-back Davinson Sanchez to give Spurs a new-look defence and the Colombian has slotted in perfectly to the team.

That in turn has allowed Dier to be in contention for a midfield role and so far he has looked back to his best.

He has already played in 10 games across all competitions and cemented his position in the starting XI.

Dier is much more effective in the middle of the park where he is screening the defence and also has the opportunity to influence the game further forward with his range of passing.

The absences of Victor Wanyama and Mousa Dembele to injury in recent weeks has certainly aided Dier, but right now he fully deserves to be in the side and playing the deep-lying playmaker role suits him perfectly.

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