Moyes once praised Spurs player’s ‘technical attributes’ amid West Ham reunion rumours

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Tottenham Hotspur’s Eric Dier has been linked with a move to West Ham United.

Tottenham Hotspur face a big decision on Eric Dier this summer, with his future now looking a little unclear after nearly six years at the club.

Dier, 26, is out of contract in 2021 and has so far failed to pen a new contract to extend his stay in North London, leaving Jose Mourinho to sweat.

The Daily Star claim that Tottenham do want to keep Dier, but there has been a hold-up over Dier’s position moving forward, as he wants assurances that he will be given playing time as a centre back moving forward.

No agreement has been reached yet, which is understandable given the global pandemic, and rumours now suggest that Dier is a wanted man.

The Daily Star (12/04, back page) suggested that West Ham are hopeful of a cut-price deal for Dier this summer, believing they can tempt Spurs into selling given the contract situation.

That may seem a little odd, as he’s too similar to Declan Rice to play in midfield, and West Ham have other centre backs like Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna and Fabian Balbuena.

Yet it does make more sense when you dig into Dier’s history, and realise that he worked under West Ham boss David Moyes in the 2011-12 season during a loan spell at Everton, in which he didn’t actually make any first-team appearances.

Moyes was quoted by Tribal Football in 2016 as saying that he wanted Dier permanently at Everton, adding that he was ‘so comfortable’ on the ball because his technical attributes were shaped at Sporting in Portugal – so this kind of praise goes some way to explaining why Moyes may want Dier at West Ham.

“Eric was at Everton for a spell while I was there, but we never really had the chance to sign him permanently,” said Moyes. “He was on loan from Sporting Lisbon and was always expected to go back there. He was a centre-back then, although he played right-back and even left-back because he was so comfortable on the ball. There’s no doubt his technical attributes have been shaped by his time in Portugal,” he added.