Tottenham close to young defender signing

If Portuguese outlet Mais Futebol are to be believed, Tottenham Hotspur are very close to signing young defender Eric Dier. They claim that negotiations are ongoing, that the two sides are close to an agreement, and that it the deal could be finalized in a matter of a couple days, if not mere hours.

Dier is English, but has lived in Portugal since he was 10 years old and came through Sporting Lisbon's youth academy. The 20-year-old has made some first team appearances over the last couple of seasons and has played five times for England Under-21. He can play left back, central defense or as a defensive midfielder, with CB his most likely future position.

For those who think we've found the defender we're very much in need of, I'm sorry to disappoint you. Mais Futebol say Dier will spend this season on loan at Sporting if the loan goes through. And, at his age, that's better for him than being Spurs' fourth or fifth central defender. He's more developed than Zeki Fryers, but not by much.

This is a long-range signing, and probably a good one. He probably won't cost that much money and he's proven that he's at least serviceable at a pretty high level already. Dier should be a nice low risk, high potential reward pickup if this goes through.