Mauricio Pochettino has laughed off the rumours that Eric Dier and Dele Alli could leave the club in the summer amidst transfer interest from the likes of Chelsea and Paris St Germain. The Tottenham manager says that the two players have signed a new contract only a few months ago, and he finds the transfer rumours quite surprising indeed.
Dele Alli has been subjected to rumours of a £50 million offer from PSG. As the French club are concerned about the future of Marco Verratti, they want to make Alli one of the headlines signings in the summer. Even Alli has dismissed this rumours claiming that it does not make any sense considering that he is extremely happy at White Hart Lane while at the same time having recently extended his contract.
As quoted by the Daily Star, Pochettino said:
“The rumours have no sense because it is impossible for anyone to sign them. They are players who are in our plans today, tomorrow and for the future.
“We are very calm about the rumours because they all extended their contracts four or five months ago.”
“They are the players we believe will play not only in the present but in the future.”
Jan Vertonghen, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Danny Rose, and Kyle Walker are some of the greatest players to have signed a contract extension this season. However, even the top scorer Kane does not earn more than £100,000 per week. Almost all top European clubs have been giving out wages to their best players in the region of £180,000 per week on an average, while the emergence of Chinese clubs as a real force in the transfer market has almost doubled these wages.
Dier, on the other hand, was linked with a move away amid claims he felt marginalised by not being first choice in any position.
But Pochettino, whose side entertain Burnley tomorrow, insisted it was more important to get game time.
He said: “He’s 22 years old, he’s a player that arrived here as a 19-year-old and he is playing more than 40 games every season.
“This season we have played 16 games in Premier League, he was in the starting XI 12 times.
“Like all the younger players sometimes you can use him in a different position but that is important for every coach.
“The most important thing for the young players is to be in the starting XI and play and try to improve with regular consistent games.
“I never heard from him that he wasn’t happy.”
Wages, though, does not seem to be a problem for Eric Dier, who is reportedly concerned about the lack of regular first-team football. Dier made the switch to White Hart Lane from Sporting CP in 2014 for around €5 million. His versatility has been a major advantage for Spurs, as they have been able to do away with the absence of Toby Alderweireld. Now that the Belgian international has returned to 1st team action after a long spell on the sidelines, Dier has found himself being demoted to the bench.
Unsurprisingly, transfer rumours have started surrounding the player within a few weeks after this setback. Chelsea are thought to be monitoring the player, who would act as a nice backup for Nemanja Matic or N’Golo Kante.
Pochettino, though, dismissed rumours that Dier is unhappy at the club. He has pointed out to the fact that the youngster has made 12 appearances in the starting line-up already. Even though he has been shifted around the pitch often, the manager says that it is for the benefit of the player as it would only help him become better.
