Manchester United Transfer News
Manchester United are keen on strength in the midfield with the potential retirement of Michael Carrick just around the corner. The departures of players like Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Schweinsteiger has also added to the midfield crisis. After signing Victor Lindelof from Benfica, manager Jose Mourinho is also intent on signing a centre-forward and a midfielder. According to Football pundit Gabriele Marcotti, Mourinho has now made Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier as his number one transfer target. (Source: ESPN, h/t Daily Star)
“I’ve been led to believe that United had other priorities, other top targets in that defensive midfield position, among them of course Eric Dier.
“But Fabinho they view as an alternative. If they can’t get Dier, they’re not going to be held to ransom by Dier or anybody else, then Fabinho is somebody that they rate.
Dier has been something of a revelation, as not many expected him to have such an impact in the Premier League. Yet, the 23-year-old is one of the several young players who shone in the Tottenham team that finished second in the Premier League last season. Surprisingly, Dier is of Portugal origins and came through the ranks at Sporting CP. This is one of a major attribute that seems to have appealed to Jose Mourinho.
However, the biggest attribute that might have appealed to Mourinho is the versatility shown by Dier over the course of the 2016-17 season. The 23-year-old is a defensive midfielder by trade, but manager Mauricio Pochettino utilized him in a number of positions – especially as a center back – in order to tide over injury crisis. Most of the picks made by Mourinho in the defensive positions are for players who can play in a wide number of roles. Even Victor Lindelof is capable of playing at both centre back and right back positions.
Even though Spurs were able to bring Dier under a new contract, which runs until June 2022, the interest from a big club like Manchester United can be the defining factor to turn the head of a player. Tottenham may have already seen the example through Kyle Walker, who has become the main target for the rivals Manchester City (Source: Mirror), despite having been one of the best players at Spurs over the last couple of years and having signed a new contract only recently.
United have been looking at a number of options for strengthening the squad depth. However, it appears that Mourinho has made Dier as the preferred choice – especially after watching him perform for England in the game against France – since the midfielder knows the Premier League all too well.
