Former Blackburn Rovers and Celtic striker Chris Sutton has claimed that he does not fully believe that it was Eric Dier who decided on his positional change.
The England international swapped the centre of the Tottenham midfield for the heart of the defence after previously impressing during Mauricio Pochettino’s time in charge by shielding the back four alongside the likes of Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama.
Sutton suggested that he finds it difficult to believe that at 26, Dier wanted to operate as a central defender.
Dier was impressive during Tottenham’s 1-0 win at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday which led to former Arsenal striker Ian Wright praising his performance during his punditry appearance on Match of the Day 2.
“Do you think it actually happened like that?” Sutton told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I am slightly sceptical saying ‘I want to play centre-half’ because he’s not that old, is he, Eric Dier?!
Former Aston Villa defender Micah Richards leapt to the defence of Dier by claiming that he has earned the right to request where he wants to operate due to the fact he is a senior player within the Spurs ranks.
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Richards replied: “He’s 26, he is only 26. You know, Chris when you are coming through as a youngster, you play wherever. I played left-back. I played centre-back. I played right-back. I played centre-mid and right-wing. I played all over.
“As a youngster, when you are 17, 18 or 19, you just play wherever you are told. But you cannot say 26 is young now. He’s mature enough to say ‘I want to play at the back’ because I think he has earned the right to do that and he doesn’t have anyone really challenging him.”
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