Spurs midfielder justifies club’s lack of transfer activity

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier has defended the club not signing anyone in the summer transfer window and says they have a “fantastic squad”.

Daniel Levy came in for criticism for becoming the first Premier League side not to sign a new player during the summer transfer window since its inception in 2003.

Mauricio Pochettino failed to add to his squad in the close season, with a deal for Jack Grealish failing to materialise on deadline day.

The failure to bring in any fresh faces was contrary Pochettino’s perceived wish, where he challenged the club to be “brave and take risks” at the end of last season.

However, the club still holds a 100% unbeaten start to the new Premier League campaign which is something Eric Dier feels that the stability of the squad is proving its value.

Many pundits tipped Spurs to lose at Manchester United on Monday. Dier pinpointed how the squad have progressed over the past few seasons: ‘I think we’ve all matured, we’re not so young anymore,’

‘We’ve experienced a lot together. We know each other very well. We go into games fully prepared to suffer if we have to and to win.’

‘In the past, that was the kind of game where maybe we wouldn’t have seen it out or we might have suffered more in the first half. But we got the job done.’

‘When big teams are doing badly, people say they need to spend another £200million or £300m,’ he says. ‘I think it’s crazy.

‘People are looking at the wrong things if they think they need to spend money to change it. It’s much more down to working with the players you’ve got; getting the best out of them; building something as a team, the culture you create at the training ground, the work you put in; the atmosphere and the relationship between the players.

Spending big money does not equal success, just look at West Ham’s start to the season. Dier believes there is more to it than just splashing the cash: ‘There are 50 different factors. Of course, teams need to sign players for different reasons. I understand that, there is always something better out there.

‘For me, people use it as an excuse and it’s the easy option to say: “Oh yeah, we’ll just spend £100m on a player and everything will be OK”. It’s not the case. If you look to the past and clubs that have been relegated recently, lots of them have spent a lot of money.

‘They think that’s what is going to make them better, but it’s so far from reality. It’s all about the manager and the players creating the right environment, demanding everything from everyone every day, improving the players you have at your disposal and not looking elsewhere constantly.

‘Make yourself better and make the club better. You don’t understand if you think just spending money is going to resolve things. Far from it.’

‘We haven’t really spoken about it [with Pochettino],’ added Dier. ‘It’s just my personal opinion. I think we’re a good example because we’ve had to find different ways to achieve the same results as other teams. I think in the long run we will be in a lot better position for it.

‘People love to talk about the fact we have not signed anyone, but we have a fantastic squad. Why sign someone if they’re not going to improve that? We have a fantastic atmosphere, work hard and the manager has installed a culture so every player has it. If they don’t, they won’t be welcome here. It’s more important than any money you can spend.’