Thomas Tuchel delivers verdict on Eric Dier’s first performance since Tottenham exit

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Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel has praised Eric Dier after the former Tottenham Hotspur defender made his debut on Wednesday night.

Bayern pounced to sign Eric Dier from Tottenham after being on the losing end of a transfer saga.

Genoa defender Radu Dragusin was at the centre of a tug-of-war between Tottenham and Bayern with both making bids for him earlier this month.

Bayern – a European superpower and regular title winners – maybe would have expected to win that race.

However, Dragusin picked Tottenham and that freed up Dier to make the move to Bayern, reuniting with Harry Kane in Bavaria.

Thomas Tuchel reacts to Eric Dier’s Bayern debut

Dier has been brought in as defensive cover for Bayern after a host of injuries this season and he was called upon as Bayern faced Union Berlin on Wednesday.

Dayot Upamecano picked up an injury and was replaced by Dier, who came on to help Bayern to a 1-0 home win.

The German media felt that Dier turned in a solid display as Bayern kept a clean sheet and got back to winning ways.

Bayenr boss Thomas Tuchel has now offered his view on Dier’s performance having given him 45 minutes of action against Union.

Tuchel, as quoted by Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, suggested that Dier’s presence on the pitch was clear and he can handle playing for Bayern as Tuchel expected.

Tuchel feels that Dier is still lacking ‘rhythm’ given that he barely played for Tottenham this season before heading to Germany, but was pleased with his display.

“As expected. You feel his presence. He can handle it,” said Tuchel. “Playing a half was surprising for him. He lacks rhythm, but it was good,” he added.

Upamecano is now expected to be out for a number of weeks and that means Dier will need to step up.

Bayern are lagging behind Bayer Leverkusen in the race for the Bundesliga title and Dier must now prove his worth in the coming weeks.

Some were surprised to see Dier secure a move to Bayern having fallen down Tottenham’s pecking order, but Tuchel appears to trust him – and is happy with how he has started life at the Allianz Arena.