Former Tottenham striker Garth Crooks has picked Harry Kane and Eric Dier in his Premier League team of the week and admitted that Dier has impressed him after moving to centre-half.
After chopping and changing at the back for Tottenham’s first few games of the season, Jose Mourinho seems to have settled on a partnership of Dier and Alderweireld at the back as his first-choice pairing.
The pair have kept four clean sheets in Tottenham’s last five Premier League games and put in another fine performance to shut Manchester City out on Saturday.
Crooks admitted that he did not rate Dier highly when he was playing as a defensive midfielder but believes that the 26-year-old has the qualities Mourinho is looking for in a central defender.
The pundit wrote in his column for BBC Sport: “I think Jose Mourinho may have found a permanent place for Eric Dier in his side.
“I have never fancied Dier as a midfield player because of his limitations on the ball, but his commitment, strength and combative nature are such attractive elements to Mourinho.
“In a team often described as lacking steel, the defender’s presence has become a crucial feature in the Tottenham set-up.”
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The former Tottenham man also showered praise on Kane for his part in both of Tottenham’s goals, as well as his all-round performance on Saturday.
Crooks wrote about the striker: “Kane wasn’t on the scoresheet but his influence on the outcome of the match was unmistakable.
“The England captain’s movement seemed to bamboozle City and help set up Son Heung-min’s opening goal before providing the most glorious through ball for Tottenham’s second, which put the game well beyond the visitors.”
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