Pochettino: I have changed my mind about this Tottenham player
By Harry Sykes
Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that he has kept changing his mind about what is Eric Dier’s best position at Tottenham.
The 23-year-old England international has been used in a string of different positions since joining in the summer of 2014 from Sporting Lisbon.
Dier has played with success at centre-back, right-back and central midfield for the north Londoners during Pochettino’s three seasons at the helm.
It appeared that he had established himself in a defensive midfield position last season after forming an impressive partnership with Mousa Dembele that was key to the team’s best league finish in a generation.
But the signing of Victor Wanyama last summer has meant Dier has played more of this season at centre-back, partly due to injuries to first-choice centre-back pair Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen as well as the manager’s successful flirtation with a three-man centre-back formation.
Pochettino is in no doubt about the significance of Dier in the Spurs squad and the value of his versatility but admits he has not made up his mind about the player’s best position.
“For different reasons I am very happy with Eric Dier,” said Pochettino, as quoted by the official Tottenham website. “If you remember, two-and-a-half years ago when he arrived at the club, he scored in my first official game against West Ham in injury time.
“He started to play like a centre-back next to Younes Kaboul, then Kyle Naughton was sent off and he moved to right-back and he finished like a winger because the goal was unbelievable.
“Then he developed different possibilities to play, playing in the (England) Under-21s and in his second season here and that is very important.
“He is very young and every time (he plays in) different positions it doesn’t affect him in his performances. He plays well as a full-back, a centre-back or a midfielder. That is a big advantage and he is a very good player for us.”
Dier has made 30 appearances for Tottenham this season in all competitions, 28 of which have been starts, a record bettered only by Christian Eriksen and Victor Wanyama, each of whom has made 29 starts.
Since moving to White Hart Lane, the 14-times England international has made 117 appearances.
In other Tottenham news, Daniel Levy has lined up the next Spurs arrival as the deal is all but done.
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