Chris Sutton has told BBC Radio 5 Live that he is ‘slightly sceptical’ that Eric Dier was the one who went to Jose Mourinho and told him that he wanted to play centre-back for Tottenham.
For a while now, Dier has insisted that playing at centre-back for Spurs is his ‘best position’ after flirting with different roles on the pitch, as quoted by the Evening Standard.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, he was deployed in various positions, but mainly in the number six role and at the heart of the club’s defence.
Whilst Sutton was unsure about Dier being the one pushing the idea of him changing positions to central-defence, former Man City defender, Richards, defended the Englishman on the matter.
“Do you think it actually happened like that?” Sutton questioned. “I am slightly sceptical saying ‘I want to play centre-half’ because he’s not that old, is he, Eric Dier?!
Richards responded: “He’s 26, he is only 26. You know, Chris when you are coming through as a youngster, you play wherever. I played left-back. I played centre-back. I played right-back. I played centre-mid and right-wing. I played all over.
“As a youngster, when you are 17, 18 or 19, you just play wherever you are told. But you cannot say 26 is young now. He’s mature enough to say ‘I want to play at the back’ because I think he has earned the right to do that and he doesn’t have anyone really challenging him.”
Well, the decision to move Dier at the back on a permanent basis is now paying off because it could be argued that he has been Tottenham’s best performer in that position.
Mourinho will always demand more from his players, especially when it comes to keeping clean sheets, but they have been solid at the back in recent matches and it has resulted in them picking up maximum points.
If Spurs can somehow grind out results like they did against the likes of West Brom and Burnley then those calls about them potentially being title contenders might just grow some legs.
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