“I’m so proud of him, I hope the English coach is watching”
“I’m proud of Eric Dyer.”
Harry Kane once again praised Dyer. Kane and Dyer have a long history together at Tottenham Hotspur and are known for their close friendship, having played together in the England national team. Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich last summer estranged Dyer, but the pair were reunited in the winter transfer window when Dyer joined Munich.
Dier joined Tottenham from Sporting in 2014 and was considered one of the leaders of the Spurs defense alongside Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. After their departures, he was considered a key part of the core. Despite flashes of brilliance, he was one of the worst defensive performers and was blamed for Spurs’ defensive collapse last season.
Manager Enze Postecoglou opted to leave Dier out of his defense entirely. Christian Romero and Micky van der Vaal formed a first-choice center back line, and even after both of them suffered injuries at the same time, Dier was not used. “I don’t know,” Postecoglou said of Dyer’s departure, “I don’t know. He’s not on my radar. He has a contract with Tottenham and is in control of his own destiny.” Eventually, Dyer left the club after 10 years.
Surprisingly, the destination was Munich. Kane’s influence is said to have played a role. “Kane pushed hard for Dyer’s signing,” says the UK’s Football Insider. Kane and Dyer have been together at Tottenham since they were youngsters and are very close. Kane introduced Dyer to life in Germany and recommended him to Thomas Tuchel and the Munich board. Dier has played 364 official games for Tottenham, but only 198 minutes this season and is out of contract at the end of the season and has been completely ruled out.”
Amid talk of Kane’s help, Dyer said at his Munich press conference: “Kane is a friend of mine, we talked a lot when he came here, and then he helped me to follow Munich’s games and the Bundesliga closely. When I realized that there was an opportunity for me, of course I followed it for myself,” he said. “Kane invited me, and when the time comes, I will go. But he has a lot of kids, a lot of things going on. I don’t think he would want me to move because he needs to create more work.”
Commenting on Dyer’s arrival at Munich, Kane told German outlet SPOX: “I’m happy for Dyer. I’ve known Dyer for a long time and played with him for a long time. He’s going to be a really important player for Munich.” He added: “I’m looking forward to seeing him. I hope he can adapt immediately. I’ll try to give him some advice,” he added, expressing his excitement about playing with Dyer.
Dyer gradually increased his playing time and started the UEFA Champions League (UCL) round of 16 second leg against 토토 Lazio, pushing Kim Min-jae off the bench. After losing the first leg 0-1 to Lazio, Munich needed to bounce back with a must-win aggregate victory in the second leg. The result was a 3-0 victory after a recent spate of defensive faltering that saw them concede back-to-back goals.
Speaking about Dyer, who kept his first clean sheet in seven official matches, Germany’s TZ said, “Dyer surprisingly came off the bench ahead of Kim Min-jae. He repaid Thomas Tuchel’s trust in him with good tackling and good positioning. He kept the back line tightly closed.” Germany’s Sport1 said: “In the first half, he was at his best as a center back. He passed the ball forward well, contested and won headers. He kept the clean sheet and kept the defense tight at the back.”
Kane said after the game: “Dyer showed what he can do when he has the ball and showed his qualities as a leader. He needs to continue his performances. England manager Gareth Southgate is well aware of Dyer’s ability. He will be delighted to see him playing at the highest level. Hopefully, Dyer can keep this momentum going. Dyer wasn’t at the last Euro, but we played together at the World Cup. She needs to show what she can do on the pitch. I’m very proud of her,” he concluded, praising his friend.