£4m Tottenham man desperate to impress Postecoglou, he didn’t play vs West Ham

Tottenham Hotspur defender Eric Dier is reportedly desperate to impress new manager Ange Postecoglou in pre-season.

That’s according to Sky Sports journalist Paul Gilmour who was speaking on the Last Word on Spurs YouTube channel.

It’s a crucial time for Tottenham’s squad in their preparation for next season.

Not only do they need to make sure their fitness levels are the best they can be, but they also have a new tactical system to learn.

Ange Postecoglou already looks set to be a very different style to his predecessor Antonio Conte.

Despite their 3-2 loss to West Ham in Perth, Spurs created plenty of chances playing high-energy, possession-based football.

The team looked fluid in attack, but there were still some issues in defence.

One Tottenham defender desperate to impress Postecoglou this summer is Eric Dier.

The £4m centre-back was one of the first names on the team sheet for Conte last season.

However, the switch from a back three to a back four might make it more difficult for the England international to get into the team.

Tottenham defender Dier desperate to impress Postecoglou

Speaking about the 29-year-old defender, Gilmour said: “We’re still at a stage where Ange Postecoglou’s assessing players while they’re all there on tour. It’s a chance to impress.

“We know Eric Dier is keen to impress. He wants to stay and he’s convinced that he’ll be better this season after overcoming the groin injury.

“I guess it’s fairly easy to forget sometimes that players are human and they do get affected physically by injuries at times and that’s what he believes.

“He thinks he can have a good season under a change of management and if you think about it, Tottenham did soak up a lot of pressure last season.

“There was a lot of pressure on those defensive players, so if they are going to be more on the front foot attacking-wise, it might be the system’s set-up to help those defenders contribute as well and take some of the pressure off especially if Tottenham can implement that style of play early on and get it right.”

There might be a good reason why Dier is trying to impress Postecoglou this summer, with Tottenham eyeing plenty of centre-backs in the transfer market.

Micky Van de Ven and Edmond Tapsoba are two potential additions, while youngster Ashley Phillips looks set to join the club.

Dier missed out on Tottenham’s friendly against West Ham as he worked on his fitness.

He’s been hoping he can be back involved very soon to show Postecoglou he’s good enough to play in his new system.