Well that’s a relief! It didn’t look good for Tottenham when Eric Dier limped off against the Czech Republic on Friday night, and the lucky escape prove just how much Spurs need to invest in their midfield this summer.
The chief football writer at Football London – James Benge – reported on Twitter that Dier said “I’m ok” when he left Wembley, so it’s not as bad as some feared at the time. However, it should make the club realise, if they haven’t already, that they can’t rely on him all the time.
While the former Sporting Lisbon man has now returned to the club for further treatment, it doesn’t look overly serious, but a closer look into the Spurs squad is somewhat concerning.
Spurs have dealt with injuries well this season, with the likes of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Heung-min Son all having time out of the team, but those are attacking players and we know they have a wealth of talent going forward. In the middle, they’ve got Harry Winks, Victor Wanyama and Moussa Sissoko.
Sissoko simply isn’t good enough and neither Wanyama or Winks are world class. The former has been injury prone for much of the campaign while the latter excels in other roles. But never mind the quality, that’s simply not enough depth for the middle of the park and it would have been proved if Dier’s injury would have kept him out until the end of the season.
Obviously, the games against Manchester City three times in 10 days in April means the team will have to be chasing Pep Guardiola’s men around the park, and the physical and mental strain will be felt by Spurs’ midfield. Without Dier, it would have been a disaster, and next year, when they hope to challenge for the title, they can’t leave that to chance.
They should go out and target the best midfielders in the world, because that’s what the teams around them will be doing, and they not only have to keep up, but they have to improve at a faster rate to catch up.
Daniel Levy’s lack of spending would have been tactical genius if they’d have won the league this season, but all it’s done is outline the need for a deeper squad, particularly in the midfield where Dier if so heavily relied on.
Spurs fans, who do you think your club should sign to add depth to the midfield next season Join the discussion by commenting below.
