Tottenham Hotspur’s failure to sell long-serving defender Eric Dier this summer dented their hopes of signing Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah on transfer deadline day, according to talkSPORT.
The report claims that Dier was linked with a move to Fulham and was also offered to Bournemouth during Spur’s bid to secure the signature of the Lloyd Kelly but the England international opted to stay at the club.
The 29-year-old’s decision to remain in north London also dented Tottenham’s hopes of signing Chalobah during the closing stages of the window. With just one year left on his contract with Spurs, Dier can sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club in January.
Dier has been a faithful servant at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium since joining from Portugues side Sporting CP in 2014. He has racked up 361 appearances for Tottenham across all competitions, scored 13 goals, and recorded 12 assists. Last term, the versatile player featured in 42 games and made three goal contributions as Spurs finished 8th in the top flight after a tough start to the season.
Dier is yet to be named in Tottenham’s match-day squad this season as he is deemed surplus to requirements by Postecoglou. He is not part of the former Celtic manager’s plans for this campaign and Spurs tried to offload him this summer but Dier refused to leave.
Missed target
According to talkSPORT, Dier’s decision to turn down an exit ruined Tottenham’s plans to bring in another centre-back on deadline day. They were in for Chalobah while Fulham’s Tosin was also on their radar.
Spurs were linked with several defenders but the Chelsea’s academy graduate was high on their transfer list. Chalobah was a regular under both Graham Potter and Frank Lampard last campaign.
The Englishman made 34 appearances in all competitions as the Blues secured a 12-placed finish. He is versatile and can play across the backline as evidenced last season. Chalobah, who was also linked with a move to Bayern Munich, has made 63 appearances, scored four times, and recorded one assist for Chelsea.
He is valued at £15m by Transfermarkt and could have been a shrewd signing for Tottenham had they been able to secure a deal during the final stages of the summer window.
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