Tottenham are reportedly interested in Burnley defender Michael Keane, who is valued at around £30m. Keane has risen to prominence at Turf Moor and was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award a few days back. However, it was Tottenham’s Dele Alli who won the award eventually.
Now, it has been reported by Telegraph that Tottenham are interested in the young English defender, who prefers a move to the White Hart Lane ahead of Merseyside clubs Liverpool and Everton. This, in turn, could boost Manchester United’s chances of signing Eric Dier for a reported £40m.
Keane’s contract is set to expire at the end of next season and hence Burnley would be under great pressure to cash in on him this summer if they fail to persuade him to sign a new deal with the club.
The defender has played 38 games for the Clarets and has 2 goals and an assist to his name. Burnley’s brilliant home record this season goes on to show how influential Keane has been for them.
As logical as it sounds for Tottenham to try and sign Michael Keane, it would be absurd for them to sell Eric Dier in the first place, never mind selling him to a rival club. Spurs have established themselves as strong title contenders over the past two seasons and there is no reason why they would strengthen their direct title rivals (assuming that Manchester United challenge for the title next season).
Eric Dier has thoroughly proved that he is at ease when playing as a central midfielder and Pochettino can probably let the Englishman play there, given that they need depth in the midfield department. Tottenham have been lucky with injuries to their central midfielders and that wouldn’t necessarily be the case next season. It would be wise for them to buy Keane and use Eric Dier in central midfield.
Dier has been strong with his performances in midfield and would offer some real steel to the Spurs midfield alongside Victor Wanyama. Two technical midfielders in Mousa Dembele and Harry Winks, and two powerhouses in Wanyama and Dier sounds like a fine combination of midfielders to have in the squad.
Michael Keane, on the other hand, moved to Burnley in 2015 from Manchester United (initially on loan in 2014 before the move became permanent in 2015) and it looks like he has proved the Red Devils wrong after just one season away from them. It seems like another blunder from the Old Trafford outfit, as they did with Pogba back during Sir Alex’s time at the club. They had to pay a world-record fee to bring the Frenchman back to Manchester.
However, that wouldn’t be the case with Keane, as it has been reported that he would cost only around £30m.
