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Tottenham Hotspur: Darren Lewis unsure of Eric Dier’s role in the squad moving forward

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Image for Tottenham Hotspur: Darren Lewis unsure of Eric Dier’s role in the squad moving forward

Journalist Darren Lewis has raised concerns over Eric Dier’s future at Tottenham Hotspur, claiming the Englishman is more suited to a centre-midfield role.

Dier has started all but one of Spurs’ 14 Premier League games so far this season, holding down a place among the three centre-backs.

However, it was his error that led to Mohamed Salah’s second goal, with Tottenham falling to a 2-1 defeat against Liverpool on Sunday.

Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni has been heavily linked with a move to the Lilywhites, with Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici said to be huge admirers of the Italian, sparking fears from Lewis.

Speaking on the TalkSport GameDay podcast, he said: “I’m always fascinated by Eric Dier, because I don’t think he’s a centre-half, although managers who’ve achieved a lot in the game deploy him in that position.

“But I think he’s a midfielder. I think he’s a much better midfielder than a centre-half and, as you say, the mistakes underline his ability to retain his focus during a match.

“He’s a really good player, but just not in that position, and I said before on the pod, I know that Conte has a huge interest in Bastoni at Inter Milan and one or two other centre-halves, and I think when he’s finished his overall recruitment, I don’t think Dier will be in that backline.

“I think it will be Romero, Bastoni or another. I don’t even think they’ll play with a five, I think they’ll play with a four with two centre-halves.”

TIF Thoughts on Lewis’ comments…

Will Dier go to the World Cup?

Yes

Yes

No!

No!

The £92k-per-week ace has been mainly used in the backline in recent seasons and hasn’t played consistently in the engine room for a number of years, so it would be a massive call from Conte to suddenly cast Dier aside.

Jose Mourinho was the last manager to see him as a No 6 as opposed to a centre-back, but since then, the 47-time England international has played further back and been performing quite well.

This season, he is the side’s highest-rated defender according to WhoScored, and given that Bastoni is left-footed, we believe Ben Davies would be more susceptible to losing his place than Dier. However, if Lewis is right and a change in formation is afoot, perhaps Dier will be looking nervously over his shoulder.

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