29-year-old Spurs outcast named in Premier League squad after summer links to Celtic

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Celtic’s defensive problems have been the subject of many headlines this summer as Brendan Rodgers battled an injury crisis over the past few weeks.

Injuries to Cameron Carter-Vickers, Yuki Kobayashi, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh left the Celtic manager down to the bare bones with defensive cover. So much so that the Hoops gaffer had to bring in Nat Phillips on loan from Liverpool.

But prior to that, the Hoops were linked with Spurs defender, Eric Dier. The 29-year-old had been frozen out by Ange Postecoglou and it was hoped that Rodgers could broker a deal to bring him to Glasgow.

Entering the final year of his contract and having not been involved in Spurs preseason training, it was thought that Dier was on his way out of London.

However, no deal could be done to offload the defender and although Celtic were linked with the experienced England international, nothing ever developed from the speculation linking him to the club.

But now, in what looks like a huge turnaround, Dier has been named in Spurs’ Premier League squad by Ange Postecoglou for this season. [Tottenham FC]

Of course, whilst that seems like good news for Dier (who has made it clear he wants to fight for his place), this announcement doesn’t give any guarantees.

It is more likely that the experienced centre-back is going to be used as cover this season. Postecoglou’s failure to bring in another defender on transfer deadline day means that Dier is likely to be a third-choice defender behind Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven.

However, with Celtic likely to welcome the return of Carter-Vickers in the coming weeks, Dier would likely have seen himself fall down the pecking order with Nawrocki also expected to return from injury in October.

In other news, ‘Suddenly’: Journalist suggests former Celtic star actually convinced £4m player to stay at Spurs this summer