‘Really good’: Conte hints he’ll start £4m Tottenham player v Everton tonight

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has hinted that he’ll start Eric Dier once again this weekend.

The England international has been an ever-present in the Spurs starting XI this season.

Dier has started every game for Tottenham this term and played the full 90 minutes in all but one.

With such a heavy schedule for the likes of Spurs, attention has turned to managing players’ minutes.

Tottenham are fighting on four fronts and playing another nine games before club football stops for the World Cup.

Ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Everton, football.london asked Conte how difficult it is to rotate Dier.

The Tottenham manager acknowledged it is “very, very difficult” to do so and isn’t planning to rotate him.

However, Conte also said Cristian Romero and Davinson Sanchez could cover as the central sweeper if needed.

“There are specific roles that is very, very difficult to make rotation,” he told Alasdair Gold.

“I think that position, the central defenders, is very very important. I think he (Dier) is playing a really good season.

“In that position, we can use also Cristian Romero, Sanchez could play.

“But if I have the possibility and the player give me the availability and tell me that he recovered energy, there are positions in the team that it is better to continue to play.”

Reassuring words from Conte – TBR View

It’s good to hear Conte outline contingency plans if Dier cannot feature.

However, it doesn’t look as though the £4million man is showing signs of fatigue at present.

The central sweeper position doesn’t usually have to cover the most ground.

So in theory, Dier should be a bit more protected against fatigue.

Nonetheless, if there comes a point when Dier has to sit a game out, Conte has other options.