Have Manchester United lined up this Tottenham’s Eric Dier to replace Michael Carrick?

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If reports in the media today are anything to go by, then Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has set his sights on securing the signature of Tottenham’s Eric Dier during this summer’s transfer window.

The Sun claim that Mourinho is lining up a bid in the region of £40 million for the 23-year-old Spurs and England midfielder who he sees as a like-for-like replacement for United stalwart Michael Carrick.

With Carrick approaching his 36^th birthday and a decision on his future past the end of the current season still not agreed with the club, Mourinho is allegedly planning a long-term successor in his midfield and has cited Dier as the ‘perfect’ man to lead next year’s title challenge.

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What can Dier bring to Old Trafford?

The obvious quality that Dier would bring to Manchester if a move were to go through is his experience of the Premier League; unlike signing a player from a foreign league, where they would inevitably need time to adjust to the Premier League tempo, Dier would be able to fit straight in.

The 23-year-old would also have relationships with some of the United squad, with the likes of Wayne Rooney, Chris Smalling and Marcus Rashford all on England duty with him in recent times.

On the field, his calm and composed approach to playing would be perfectly suited at the back of the United midfield, and after eleven years of Michael Carrick’s innate ability to dictate and lead the midfield this is something that Mourinho will know is vital to possess in any successor to the role.

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Much like Carrick, he doesn’t have a vast amount of pace to rely on, but his footballing brain and clever vision more than make up for it both in defence and attack, with Dier able to read the game incredibly well. This makes his awareness of game situations very solid as well, a necessary attribute for Mourinho.

Dier’s ability in the air not only lends itself well in defensive scenarios but from set-pieces too, possessing an impressive jump on him that can fashion goals out of hopeful crosses; with Carrick only managing 17 goals across over 300 appearances, this is a new quality Dier can bring to the club.

Would a move prove to be successful?

On the face of it, if Mourinho is wanting to find a man that can come into Old Trafford and immediately settle into his side’s title challenge next season then Dier ticks the majority of the boxes.

However, whether Dier could emulate Carrick’s efficiency and be as dependable in the middle of the Manchester United midfield is yet to be seen, with the Tottenham man prone to a number of individual mistakes this season for club and country; he would certainly have a lot to live up to.

It’s important to remember that Dier isn’t a natural central midfielder either; he burst on to the scene and spent 18 months as a centre-back, only recently being experimented further up the field.

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It’s this that could prove to be the biggest gamble of all should the rumours linking him to Old Trafford be true; when a young Phil Jones announced his arrival in the United first-team under Sir Alex Ferguson it was believed that, despite his natural position being a central defender, that he could step into the void that the likes of Roy Keane and Paul Scholes left in the middle of the park.

Yet this hype failed to materialise on the pitch, and years down the line Jones has struggled to stake a claim for a regular first-team role – it’s this that Mourinho will hope doesn’t happen with Dier.

Having said that the Spurs man is undeniably one of the up-and-coming young British talents in the top flight, and he’s firmly established himself as an England regular and a vital part of Tottenham’s top-four challenges for the past two season, proving himself to be effective in the Premier League.

At a reported £40 million it could be a gamble, but if it pays off then the thought of Dier alongside the likes of Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba at Old Trafford could be a fruitful trio for years to come.

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