Ange Postecoglou bluntly acknowledged that Tottenham could cope with losing Eric Dier to Bayern Munich, despite a setback with defender Ben Davies suffering a new injury.
Dier, with less than six months left on his contract, seems poised for an unexpected January transfer to Bayern Munich, following his former teammate Harry Kane. Thomas Tuchel aims to bolster his defensive options, and negotiations between the German champions and Tottenham for a short-term permanent deal are ongoing, according to The Athletic.
The 29-year-old was omitted from the Tottenham squad against Burnley in the FA Cup, raising further speculation about his future with the club. However, after Spurs clinched a 1-0 victory through Pedro Porro’s stunning goal, Postecoglou disclosed that Dier had sustained an injury.
“He just pulled up sore and didn’t train yesterday.” said Postecoglou. When pressed about Dier’s potential move to Bayern, he responded firmly, “Separate issue mate but don’t question my integrity.”
“When I say he’s injured, he’s injured. He didn’t train yesterday. I can get Vision [Spurs’ training system footage] in for you, you can ask him. It’s got nothing to do with anything else.”
“When you ask me whether he’s injured, he’s injured,” he reiterated. “I didn’t make that up. If he wasn’t injured I’d say he wasn’t selected. It’s easy for me to say. He’s injured and in terms of anything else that’s happening, not on my radar. Not that I’ve heard of. If there is something I’m sure I’ll hear of it, but fair to say in the last 24 hours we’ve been focusing on the game and the guys that are available.”
Asked later if Tottenham could manage without Dier given Davies’ potential absence, Postecoglou replied assertively, “Yes.”
Facing Cristian Romero’s absence and Micky van de Ven’s recent return from a hamstring issue, Davies’ injury is an additional concern for Postecoglou. “Yeah, Ben Davies looks like he done his hamstring,” he confirmed. “So, it looks like he will be out and Gio has a bit of tightness but hoping it is nothing serious.”
Regarding the match itself, Porro’s remarkable long-range strike secured Tottenham’s passage to the FA Cup fourth round. “It looked like that’s what it was going to take,” remarked Postecoglou. “We controlled the game enough but we were just a bit wasteful in front of goal. It’s a cup competition. The most important thing is you find a way to win and we did that.”
Tottenham Hotspur performance and stats
Tottenham Hotspur
Tottenham Hotspur is currently in the FA Cup with points.
It has a even goal difference after scoring goals and conceding .
