Martin Keown delivers Eric Dier verdict as Tottenham lose at Leicester

By Giuseppe Labellarte

Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier struggled in Saturday’s Premier League trip to Leicester City.

Antonio Conte’s charges fell to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Foxes, who came from a goal down to triumph.

Dier was caught out of position for the hosts’ second goal, gifting Kelechi Iheanacho too much space.

The Nigeria international then had the better of the Tottenham man for Leicester’s third.

Dier stood off Iheanacho, allowing him to roll his effort inside the left-hand post to give the hosts a two-goal cushion.

Martin Keown, speaking on BBC Sport’s Final Score, didn’t like what the Spurs man did in the build-up to that goal.

The Arsenal legend said he’s a fan of Dier, but admitted he got “punished” by Iheanacho.

“For me, I rate Eric Dier as a player,” he said, as per the BBC Sport website.

“He played predominantly as a midfield player and it cost him in this situation (Leicester’s third goal).

“Dier should be coming right up to the ball and deal with it.

“He stands off it too much and in the end he gets punished.”

Sadly, Dier didn’t cover himself in any glory for Leicester’s fourth either.

The 29-year-old backed off Harvey Barnes, allowing him space to slot into the net.

False dawn as problems mount up – TBR View

A dismal day for Tottenham, whose recent upturn in form was sadly just a false dawn.

And to make things worse, Rodrigo Bentancur had to come off with a knee injury.

Spurs face an anxious wait for news about the midfielder’s problem and how long he may be out for.

Back to the drawing board for Antonio Conte, who now finds himself with an increasingly depleted team.

As for Dier, he was really impressive against Manchester City last time out.

There was hope the £85,000-a-week man had turned a corner, but his display against Leicester was disappointing.

You can’t help but think that, should Conte (or whoever’s in charge this summer) bring in more centre-backs, Dier’s future will be uncertain.