On the latest episode of the Extra Inch podcast, Chris Miller, Nathan Clark and Bardi have been discussing the latest goings-on at Tottenham Hotspur, focusing on the recent wins against Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Southampton.
One topic of discussion during the most recent episode, which was titled: ‘Mourinho Masterclass?‘ was Spurs centre-back Eric Dier. The England international has played 90 minutes in every Spurs game so far this season but disappointed against Everton in the opening game, earning a 6.41 rating and also struggled against Plovdiv, earning a less than impressive 6.39 rating (per WhoScored).
Although he improved somewhat in the win against Southampton, picking up a 6.9 rating, those on the podcast don’t seem too happy with the prospect of him being a starter for the rest of the season.
Here’s what Bardi had to say about the 26-year-old during the podcast:
“I just want to highlight one thing: Eric Dier, I don’t think he can start for us anymore, because that was a very simple pass [for Southampton’s opening goal]. It wasn’t like Kyle Walker-Peters picked it up and curled it around the line or Danny Ings did anything more complicated than just run straight forward. Dier totally lost the flight of the ball, totally lost where Ings was, Davinson [Sanchez] comes haring over to try and rescue the situation, but Ings is just too smart and clever for those two and he catches [Hugo] Lloris out completely.
“I just think it’s a very simple pass and I just think Dier takes too long to get his feet in position and move where he needs to move. Also, I thought his distribution out of the back was awful.”
Clark then responds to Bardi’s suggestion that Dier should be dropped, saying:
“Well, if you think that Dier should be out of the team, I’ve got bad news about where he sits in Mourinho’s rankings of centre-backs. I think he’s probably considered first-choice.”
TIF Thoughts…
Bardi certainly didn’t seem too impressed with Dier’s performance against the Saints last weekend, although perhaps the Englishman is being scapegoated somewhat, especially when you consider that his 6.9 rating was the best of any of the Spurs defenders (per Whoscored).
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However, we have seen Spurs linked with the likes of Milan Skriniar and Ruben Dias recently, which suggests that Mourinho is keen to add another centre-back to his ranks, meaning we could potentially see Dier out of the team, although from what Clark suggests, for the time being, the £18 million-rated man could be considered Mourinho’s first-choice in central-defence.