Report: Tottenham open talks to extend Eric Dier’s contract

Eric Dier has had kind of a rough time at Tottenham Hotspur the past couple of seasons, but thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic it seems he may be given an extended stay. Football Insider, relying on their usual unnamed “sources close to the club,” is suggesting that Spurs have opened negotiations with Dier for a new contract. His current deal expires at the end of the 2020-21 season.

Dier had slipped down the pecking order under Mauricio Pochettino, partly due to no fault of his own as he had struggled with a garden basket of maladies which included having his appendix removed and tonsillitis. Even when he got back, he didn’t seem like his old self, and slipped down the roster at defensive midfield this season.

He’s earned a bit of a resurgence since the appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager, though it is starting to look like his future at the club may come at centerback rather than defensive midfield. However, various reports had suggested that Dier might be allowed to leave Spurs this summer if a decent bid came in for him, and Spurs were able to find a replacement.

COVID has seemed to toss a wrench into those plans. It doesn’t appear that the market is there for Dier to leave or for the club to replace him adequately, so a new contract might make sense for everyone involved. I’m sure that Spurs could probably find a better, younger Dier somewhere out there and in most summers he’d earn a pretty penny as a full English international midfielder. But Spurs seem to be circling the wagons financially, and while it looks like they’ll try to get Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg across the line this summer they may not have the clout to do a whole lot more.

As always, we acknowledge the flightiness of the source, but this does seem like a plausible move for Spurs to make. If Mourinho can find a role for Dier as a utility player, rotation option, and Dele happier-maker, he’s certainly worth keeping around until there’s further clarity on, you know, [gestures at everything].