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Eric Dier

Jordinho

Ron Henry
Staff member
[TWEET]494931985979432960[/TWEET]

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[video=youtube;jZT5G70I4So]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZT5G70I4So[/video]
 
Re: Welcome Eric Dier!

Dier interview from a couple of years back
[video=youtube;YtFoNl1_0Po]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtFoNl1_0Po[/video]
 
Re: Welcome Eric Dier!

Never watched him but just googled him - massive neck.
 
Re: Welcome Eric Dier!

Eric Dier: who is the Englishman at Sporting Lisbon set to join Tottenham?

Born in England but raised under the careful eye of the Sporting Lisbon system, the young defender is ready to return home

Eric Dier has dreamed the dream for as long as he can remember. For the tall and composed defender, it has always been England and the Premier League, and now the 20-year-old is poised to turn it into reality with a £4m transfer to Tottenham Hotspur.

What makes Dier a rarity is that he is a product not of his native England but Portugal, to where he emigrated with his family at the age of seven after his mother, Louise, who works in the catering industry, got a job in the country before the 2004 European Championship.

Dier’s journey has taken him through the renowned Sporting Lisbon academy – which has graduates such as Luis Figo, Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani – to a professional contact at the club in April 2010, on into the B team and then the first team. He is now on the verge of what amounts to a homecoming.

Dier, who was born in Cheltenham and lived in Sussex before the move to Portugal, has been tracked by Tottenham and other English clubs for several years. Sporting had to withstand competition from Manchester United – the club Dier supported as a boy – Arsenal and Tottenham for his signature on that first contract in 2010 while he also had six months on loan at Everton’s academy in 2011.

Tottenham have made their move, with Mauricio Pochettino believing that Dier could not only provide competition in central defence but cover at right-back and in defensive midfield.

Dier stands to follow the goalkeeper Michel Vorm and the left-back Ben Davies, who both joined Spurs from Swansea City, while Pochettino remains confident about prising the midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin from Southampton, despite his former club’s resistance to the proposed deal.

“Ultimately, I want to test myself against the best and the Premier League is where I dream about playing,” Dier has said, in the past. He has represented England at under-18, -19, -20 and -21 levels. “I think it is the dream of any kid to play for England and play for your country,” he has also said.

Dier commands fascination and respect in England because of the career path he has taken. In an era when so few English players appear willing to broaden their cultural and linguistic horizons with moves to mainland Europe or further afield, he stands out.

Dier was recommended to Sporting as an eight-year-old by the PE teacher at his English-speaking school and, having impressed, he trained with them at their facility in central Lisbon until he was 13. At 14, he moved to the club’s academy and, also, to a Portuguese school, where he had no choice but to immerse himself in the language.

Completely fluent, and at ease with the Portuguese lifestyle, Dier set himself the target of making the grade at Sporting. He had offers to return to England – and there was the spell at Everton – but he reasoned that the opportunities would be greater at Sporting because of their hard-earned reputation for bringing through young talent. He knew that players can get lost in the academy systems at the big English clubs.

Dier stayed in Lisbon even after his family went back to England in 2010 and the breakthrough came in 2012-13, when he made 15 appearances for Sporting’s first-team and was feted for his performances. He made a further 15 appearances for them last season.

He is 6ft 3in and, in addition to his physicality and threat at set pieces, he brings comfort on the ball, technique and an ability to read the game. He chimes with the sort of football that Pochettino is seeking to play at Tottenham, while he appears mature beyond his years.

Dier is of sporting lineage. His maternal grandfather is Ted Croker, the former FA secretary, who played for Charlton and Kidderminster, while his father, Jeremy, was a professional tennis player.

In September 2010, he was chosen by Umbro as one of the faces of England’s future and he featured in an advertising campaign alongside Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart, Jack Wheelchair and Theo Walcott. His visibility is set to become broader.


http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2014/jul/31/eric-dier-tottenham-sporting-lisbon
 
Re: Welcome Eric Dier!

Nice one.

Daws to Hull now.

Think this kid has what it takes to progress into the first team.
 
Re: Welcome Eric Dier!

Interesting signing, saw him play for England U21s and he looked comfortable. Wasn't really tested and it's a completely different level to the Premier League.

But he has great height and it must be a great advantage to train in the Sporting Lisbon team and grow through the youth academy. Technically gifted but a bit of a powerhouse (hence being dubbed new Terry) and we could have quite the player on our hands. And for what? Half what we sold Caulker for?
 
Re: Welcome Eric Dier!

And at just 20 years of age I presume he will not count among the 25 man squad. At the very least hopefully we will see him in the cups
 
Re: Welcome Eric Dier!

Welcome Eric!


Hope this goes well for all involved. Can't say I've ever really seen or heard of him previously, but an English player that has played overseas is a rarity, never mind one who has been coached from such a young age.

It'll be interesting to see how his vision of the game and style differs.
 
Re: Welcome Eric Dier!

Welcome Eric!


Hope this goes well for all involved. Can't say I've ever really seen or heard of him previously, but an English player that has played overseas is a rarity, never mind one who has been coached from such a young age.

It'll be interesting to see how his vision of the game and style differs.

Bit off topic buy why is it do you think that out of all the best top footballing nations, it's England that have their best youth and their best players playing in the domestic league?

I mean at times you'd even get clubs at top Level in England buying players from second divisions in perhaps Spain or Italy but you'll never get clubs in said countries buying from championship.

Could it be a cost thing? Are clubs overpricing? Or are we just technically not good enough in a sport that nowadays requires technical ability over the typical power and pace.

Michael Mancienne, once highly rated, currently plays for Hamburg in Germany.
 
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