Eric Dier is set to make his first Premier League start in three months against Southampton on Saturday, according to the Evening Standard.
The regional newspaper claim the England international is in line to be restored to the starting XI for the St Mary’s Stadium clash after emerging unscathed from his 35 minutes against Borussia Dortmund in Tuesday’s Champions League triumph.
The Standard report Dier, 25, is set to replace Harry Winks in the starting XI as his fellow England international is suffering from a groin injury that could sideline him for some time.
OPINION
It has been a frustratingly stop-start season for Dier, once a byword for teak-tough durability. He has just returned this week after being affected on and off by appendicitis and tonsillitis over the last three months, and there have been growing laments over the absences of a player who has sometimes been a scapegoat for a section of supporters. Mauricio Pochettino has never been in any doubt about the value of Dier, who provides knowhow, resilience, awareness and neat distribution in the midfield anchorman role. Victor Wanyama started alongside man-of-the-moment Moussa Sissoko in the north London derby, but it was telling that the Kenyan was ignored in Germany on Wednesday, and Dier was introduced to the action ahead of him when Winks succumbed to the groin injury troubling him. Dier’s greater agility and fitness compared to Wanyama means a return against Southampton is now looking very likely.