Tottenham Hotspur have valued England international Eric Dier at £50m, according to the Daily Telegraph, in an attempt to quell Manchester United‘s ardour for the midfielder. It’s unlikely to deter the Red Devils, one of England’s cash richest clubs.
Dier, signed for £4m from Sporting Lisbon in 2014, has quickly established himself in the England senior squad, winning 18 caps for his country.
Jose Mourinho views Dier as a replacement for Michael Carrick in the United squad. It’s a path the former West Ham United midfielder trod himself, moving to Old Trafford for £14m in 2006 from White Hart Lane.
While £50m might seem a good fee for Tottenham to take, for chairman Daniel Levy, there is more at stake. His vision for the club will be undermined if he sells off his prime assets off the back of the Lilywhites best season in fifty-five years.
With a new stadium build to fund, the issue becomes more complicated. Bitter local rivals took the same path a decade ago when they moved to the Emirates and their transfer budget was severly impacted until three years ago.
If Levy takes £50m now, it might enable the club to reinvest in the squad and retain key players – Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Erikssen – with the ambition of challenging for the Premier League title.
