Ange Postecoglou has seemingly ruled out any injury to Eric Dier after the centre-back missed out on the Tottenham squad altogether for the opening match against Brentford today.
Dier had been a near-mainstay in the backline last season under Antonio Conte, and was a popular member of the starting XI under Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino too.
However, despite completing pre-season with Spurs and Postecoglou, the Australian preferred a starting two of Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven against the Bees.
Even Davinson Sanchez was given the nod ahead of Dier to take his place on the bench, which turned out to be key as Romero was taken off due to a head injury in the first 15 minutes.
Postecoglou explains Eric Dier absence for Spurs
Asked why Eric Dier was left out, Postecoglou insisted that many players did not make the squad today, and he will continue to pick the team based on each given game.
Postecoglou on Eric Dier’s absence: “Eric is part of this team. We left a few out. We had a few not on the bench today that are very good players. Eric is the same. He’s worked hard in training but I’ll pick the squad for any given game.” https://t.co/W0zIKnVJA9
— Alasdair Gold (@AlasdairGold) August 13, 2023
Postecoglou clearly had one or two spots for centre-backs on his bench and he went for Sanchez and Ben Davies over Dier. Perhaps he feels that recovery pace is a key attribute his centre-backs need to have, and that is something Dier doesn’t naturally possess.
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Who will Spurs sign?
The north Londoners’ transfer kitty has been bolstered by the sale of star striker Harry Kane, who has just completed his sensational switch to Bayern Munich for around €100 million (£86m) plus an extra €20 million (£17.2m) in possible add-ons.
Losing Kane to the Bundesliga come as a seismic blow for Spurs as they must now seek to replace a 25-plus goal-per-season forward, but there are a few options they’ve been linked with.
Tottenham could also look to shore up other areas of the squad following the 30-year-old’s departure, as reliable media sources like The Times suggest they could make as many as three major signings before deadline day.
The Lilywhites have already completed deals for goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, young centre-back Ashley Phillips, defender Micky van de Ven, playmaker James Maddison, winger Manor Solomon and striker Alejo Veliz, but there is now still plenty of work to do at Spurs.
Following the signing of van de Ven, manager Ange Postecoglou has previously hinted at the club making another centre-back move.
“It’s not done yet,” said Postecoglou last weekend.
“We need bolstering in that central defensive area. We need defenders who can work in an aggressive formation, defend well & behind them. We’ll be looking to bring in a couple in that area in the coming days.”
Following on from that comment, the Spurs head coach later backtracked, saying a new central defensive addition will be dependent on outgoings.
