Why West Ham United should avoid signing Eric Dier
According to a report from Daily Star (h/t Football.london), West Ham United are plotting a summer swoop for Tottenham Hotspur star Eric Dier. The England international will be out of contract at Spurs in 2021, and the Hammers are keenly monitoring his situation as they look to sign him up in the summer.
Eric Dier has been at Tottenham Hotspur since 2014, having signed from Portuguese outfit Sporting Lisbon. During his time at the club, the 26-year-old has grown into an important player, having made 235 appearances till date, in which he has scored and assisted 11 goals apiece.
However, the 26-year-old’s form has been on the wane over the past year or so. Dier, who has primarily been used as a defensive midfielder at Tottenham, can play at centre-back as well. The £60,000-a-week star has made only 14 appearances in the Premier League this season, in which he has assisted two goals.
Meanwhile, West Ham United have endured a difficult campaign so far. The Hammers, after having struggled to get going, decided to sack Manuel Pellegrini from the managerial role and brought back David Moyes in order to guide the club to safety, like he had done a couple of years ago.
However, after showing signs of resurgence early on under the former Everton and Manchester United boss, West Ham have struggled to build on it. Prior to the season getting suspended, the Hammers had won just one of their five league games and sit 16th in the table, level on points with 18th-placed Bournemouth.
Irrespective of whether West Ham survive the drop or not, the squad needs restructuring heading into next season, with the midfield department being a key area. Captain Mark Noble will be turning 33 next month and needs to be slowly phased out of the first-team, while Carlos Sanchez, 34, will be out of contract in the summer and Jack Wilshere’s injury problems are well-documented.
This would leave Declan Rice as the only reliable option in the defensive midfield position for the Hammers next season. But the England international too has been linked with an exit from the club, which would leave the midfield department at West Ham to bare bones.
There is a possibility that the club will sign Tomas Soucek on a permanent transfer (h/t Guardian), after being impressed by the midfielder since his loan arrival in January. But the club should bring in more bodies in the midfield department this summer.
Having said that, Eric Dier would not be the solution for the Hammers. The 26-year-old’s form has suffered over the past couple of seasons and had been overlooked by former boss Mauricio Pochettino for a majority of the first half of the season despite being fit.
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Moreover, Dier recently stated that he would prefer moving back to his natural habitat of central defence than playing in the defensive midfield role. Bringing in a player whose form has dwindled over the past year and is not interested in playing in midfield would prove to be counter-productive for West Ham.
Verdict
West Ham are in need of reinforcements in midfield, there is no question about that. However, Eric Dier, despite his experience in the Premier League, is not the answer to their problems.
The Englishman’s form has been on a downward curve for quite a while now and he himself has stated that he wishes to move back to the centre-half role moving forward in his career. Therefore, the Hammers should look at someone other than the Tottenham man to bolster their ranks moving forward.
