---
title: "Tottenham: Eric Dier ‘nowhere near the required level’"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/eric-dier-news-rumours-latest/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Dominic Lund"
section: "Follow up"
published: "2023-02-20T20:15:25Z"
modified: "2023-02-20T20:15:25Z"
---

# Tottenham: Eric Dier ‘nowhere near the required level’

**[Tottenham Hotspur](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tottenham-hotspur-news/) defender [Eric Dier](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tag/eric-dier/) is ‘nowhere near the required level’ to bring the club success, according to journalist Ryan Taylor.**

### The Lowdown: Dier struggling

The defender has already been criticised by pundits for his performances this season, with journalist Kevin Palmer [slamming](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/tottenham-hotspur-news/spurs-kevin-palmer-eric-dier-brentford/) his very poor performance in the 2-2 draw against Brentford, claiming he’s ‘not good enough’ for a top six club.

Given that Cristian Romero has been [injured](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/cristian-romero/verletzungen/spieler/355915) for large parts of the season, Dier has been given a lot of game time by Antonio Conte, making [22](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/eric-dier/leistungsdaten/spieler/175722) appearances in the [Premier League](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/premier-league-news/), however he has left Taylor unimpressed…

### The Latest: Criticised by Taylor

In an interview with [GiveMeSport](https://www.givemesport.com/tottenham-level-hotspur-way-antonio-conte/), the journalist name-checked a few Tottenham players who he has been disappointed by, and he reserved particularly scathing criticism for Dier, saying:

*“Ben Davies, good squad player but he should not be a starter. Hugo Lloris, poor, while Eric Dier is just nowhere near the required level for what Spurs are trying to achieve.”*

[![Tottenham latest news](https://cdn.footballtransfertavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/cropped-tottenham-fans.jpg)](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/tottenham-latest-news-4/)

### The Verdict: Not good enough

Taylor also [described](https://twitter.com/RyanTaylorSport/status/1614688673399808001?s=20) the Englishman as ‘very poor’ back in January, and that is a probably a fair assessment, given the level of his performances so far this season, as he is one of two Spurs players to have made an [error](https://www.premierleague.com/stats/top/players/error_lead_to_goal) leading to a goal.

In fairness, there have been some improved signs recently, with the 29-year-old impressing in the 2-0 victory against West Ham United at the weekend, winning [six](https://www.sofascore.com/west-ham-united-tottenham-hotspur/IM) of his seven aerial duels, the second-highest amount of any player.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”419177″\]

That being said, the Hammers offered little in the way of attacking threat, and the [£85k](https://www.spotrac.com/epl/tottenham-hotspur-fc/payroll/)-per-week earner does not put in those types of performances on a regular enough basis, [ranked](https://www.sofascore.com/tottenham-hotspur-leicester-city/MXpf) by Sofascore as Spurs’ worst-performing outfield starter in the 4-1 defeat at Leicester City.

As such, Conte should look to bring in a new option at centre-back in the summer window, and The Daily Mail [report](https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11715787/THE-NOTEBOOK-Spurs-fans-Crazy-Love-record-goalscorer-Harry-Kane.html) that a dominant defender will be at the top of their wanted list this summer.