11 months ago
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Ewan RobertsPublished Jan 11, 2024, 10:40am|Updated Jan 11, 2024, 3:06pm
Eric Dier says he is excited to join ‘amazing’ Bayern Munich after touching down in Germany to complete a surprise move to the Bundesliga champions from Tottenham.
With Spurs on the verge of announcing a deal for Genoa centre-back Radu Dragusin, long-serving centre-back Dier has now been allowed to leave the club.
The Bundesliga side will pay a fee of around £3.4million for the 29-year-old, which reflects the fact he has entered the final six months of his contract and was set to leave on a free transfer in the summer.
Dier has already touched down in Munich and is now undergoing a medical ahead of the transfer being rubberstamped.
Asked if he is looking forward to playing for Bayern after touching down in Munich, Dier told Sky Sport Germany: ‘Very much so, very much. Amazing club, amazing.’
On being reunited with his old Spurs team-mate Harry Kane, he smiled and replied: ‘Yes, again.’
Bayern have been looking for reinforcements at centre-back due to Kim Min-jae’s involvement at the Asian Cup over the next month, while Dayot Upamecano and Matthijs de Ligt have had sketchy injury records.
The German giants made a play of their own for Dragusin and actually offered a bigger fee and salary package, but the Romania international opted to join the north Londoners instead and Bayern quickly moved onto backup target Dier.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed Dier’s imminent arrival at a press conference on Thursday while he also hinted at the possibility of using him as a defensive midfielder.
‘From experience, we know things can go wrong in the final seconds,’ said Tuchel.
‘He is in Munich and we are trying to finalise the deal and find another alternative in the defensive position in our squad. But I’d like to wait before the ink has dried.
‘I think that he is more or less a specialist in the central defensive role. He’s played as a holding midfielder in the past.
‘He can play as part of a back four and three at the back so we can free up Leon Goretzka in midfield so he doesn’t have to switch between playing as a No 8 and being deeper.
‘We’re still focusing on other positions and we’ll see if anything else happens.’
Dier has not played as a defensive midfielder since Mauricio Pochettino’s time at Tottenham but enjoyed several excellent patches of form in his natural centre-back position under both Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, winning back a place in the England squad just in time for the World Cup in Qatar.
He struggled for consistency in the second half of last season and fell down the pecking order under Ange Postecoglou this season, with the Aussie even preferring full-backs Emerson Royal and Ben Davies in his high defensive line.
MORE : Timo Werner explains decision to join Tottenham as Spurs confirm loan deal
MORE : ‘We are mind blown’ – Radu Dragusin’s agent shocked defender chose Tottenham move over Bayern Munich
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