Ex-Spurs man left unconvinced by Mourinho’s plans for 26-year-old

Former Tottenham striker, Darren Bent, has questioned whether Jose Mourinho’s decision to switch Eric Dier from a defensive midfielder to a centre-half will work.

Dier started life as a central defender while coming through the Sporting Lisbon academy. He then played as a right-back and a central defence during his first season in North London after moving to Spurs in the summer of 2014.

However, he was then shifted into defensive midfield during his second season by Mauricio Pochettino and went on to shine as Spurs mounted back to back title challenges.

While the England international was still used in the backline on occasion, he became known primarily as a midfielder for both club and country.

The 26-year-old revealed recently in an interview to the Evening Standard that he sees centre-back as his best position.

Reports have indicated that Jose Mourinho has made his mind up to deploy Dier as a centre-back next season (Football Insider) but Bent is sceptical about whether it will work.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former England striker said: “I’m not quite sure about that one.

“We’ve seen him there before and he lacks a lot of pace. You obviously want to see him succeed but it’s difficult because you need speed, I believe, as a centre-half.

“He lacks in that position. I always think he can fill in and do a good job for people but if you’re looking at it, going into a season with him as your primary, number one centre-half then you’d probably have to say that’s probably not the best idea.

“For me, I’d try to find someone else but we know what Mourinho’s like – if he believes in something and thinks it will work, he’ll definitely back himself and try to make it work.”

Spurs Web Opinion

I’ve always believed that centre-half is Eric Dier’s best position. A lot of fans seem to think he is bad on the ball but that is not the case when he is playing at centre half and has the game in front of him. It is only when he is asked to turn with his back to the goal that he struggles. I also don’t think he lacks pace at all. He is deceptively quick in comparison to many of our other defenders.

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