EXCLUSIVE: West Ham make Dier approach as Moyes wants Maguire-like defender

Steve Kay

• Updated: 1 Jan 2024 16:50 GMT
• 3 min read

Exclusive

West Ham have made initial contact with Tottenham regarding a potential move for England international Eric Dier, FootballTransfers can reveal.

We understand that David Moyes is looking to add Premier League experience to strengthen his squad during the January transfer window, following the club’s impressive first half of the campaign.

Moyes, who is impressed with Dier's defensive abilities, sees the versatile player as a suitable addition to West Ham's backline- sources inform us that the Hammers' manager is believed to view Dier in a similar mould to Manchester United's centre-back Harry Maguire, a player West Ham came close to signing during the summer transfer window before the Red Devils knocked back an offer.

Dier's contract is up at Spurs in 2024, meaning that the club would have to cash in now or face the risk of losing him on a free.

Moyes and Dier already have a relationship dating back to their time at Everton, when the defender was on loan from Sporting CP in 2011. Dier represented Everton U18s ten times during his spell at Merseyside and won the 2010–11 U18s Premier League. He extended his loan stay in the Everton academy for an additional 12 months before heading back to Portugal.

Will Eric Dier be allowed to leave Spurs?

It is believed that Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou has already sanctioned the January exit for Dier. The veteran joined the club in 2014, being one of

Mauricio Pochettino’s first signings. He has played 363 games for Spurs across nine and a half seasons.

FootballTransfers’ Estimated Transfer Value algorithm ranks Dier at €15.7m - while his highest value was in 2018 when he hit the €45.7m mark.