Premier League icon Paul Merson has joked that Eric Dier’s agent should expect a knighthood after securing his client a move from Tottenham Hotspur to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.
Eric Dier, you could argue, has tripped over his own feet and tumbled straight into a barrel of the tastiest, softest ice-cream. His luck was certainly in this week, none other than Bayern Munich coming to the rescue of a player who had barely kicked a ball under Ange Postecoglou and looked destined to end up at a club further down the footballing pyramid.
Of course, Dier probably owes Harry Kane – the now Bayern striker and his former Spurs team-mate – an extra-nice gift next Christmas.
But, while Merson admits to being taken aback by a transfer few saw coming, he does believe that a player of Dier’s experience and versatility could still come in very handy. Particularly with Bayern having the option to make his loan deal permanent for just £3.5 million.
Eric Dier leaves Tottenham for Bayern Munich
“His agent will get knighted! He’s probably thinking ‘I hope Ant and Dec aren’t here!,” Merson jokes on Sky Sports.
“No, he’s a good professional. It’s a decent signing for £3 to £4 million. He can play as a holding midfield player. £3 to £4 million is absolutely nothing. He’s played abroad, in Portugal, you know he can settle down.
“I think it’s a great move for Bayern too. Certain players don’t suit certain teams. He didn’t suit the way Tottenham were playing but he could suit the way Bayern Munich are.”
Former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has already confirmed that Dier – who spent nine years at Spurs and very nearly qualified for a testimonial – will be Bayern’s third-choice centre-half, behind summer signing Kim Min-Jae and the Arsenal-linked Matthijs de Ligt.
Spurs land Radu Dragusin
His place in the Tottenham squad, meanwhile, has been taken by Radu Dragusin.
The £26 million signing from Genoa was, would you believe it, a target for none other than Bayern too. The Bavarian giants turned to Dier after Dragusin had committed himself to Spurs.
“(A centre-back) was a priority position for us in the window,” Ange Postecoglou tells Football London, Spurs fighting off Napoli and AC Milan as well as Bayern for their new number six.
“We knew that, if the right opportunity came up in January, we’d move. We did a fair bit of work on (the Dragusin deal). Once we knew the direction we were going in, Johan (Lange, technical director) and his team did a lot of background work on him. After my chats with him I could tell how he would fit in.
“(And Werner) was a really good opportunity. I had a good chat with Johan about it. I felt Timo would be a really good fit for us.”
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