Could Eric Dier’s midfield days at Tottenham be over?

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Tottenham Hotspur are expected to soon announce the signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton.

According to Sky Sports, the player is set to undergo a medical on Monday, with full-back Kyle Walker-Peters heading in the opposite direction for £12 million.

The £50,000-a-week Dane (Spotrac) is bringing to an end a four-year stint on the south coast, where he made 134 appearances for the Saints.

The 25-year-old’s desire to leave St. Mary’s has been no secret, and £15 million is ultimately a decent fee for a player with a year remaining on his contract.

Hojbjerg’s new challenge will begin with him trying to force his way into Jose Mourinho’s best XI, with plenty of competition for places in midfield.

On that, it now seems impossible to see how Eric Dier will play in midfield again given the options available to the Portuguese.

TBR’s view – Defender Dier?

On top of Hojbjerg, there is Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, Tanguy Ndombele, Giovani Lo Celso, Gedson Fernandes and youngster Oliver Skipp who can all play in central midfield.

During Project Restart, Mourinho played Dier at centre-half for all the games he was available for, and it’s hard to see him playing any other position in 2020/21 given the plethora of midfielders now at the club.

And actually, Dier looked good playing further back and Tottenham’s results towards the end of the season were certainly positive.

The England international is good on the ball, but his lack of mobility can sometimes be a worry. That tends to be less of an issue when he plays as a defender where it is less likely for him to be bypassed.