Hands up if you expected to hear that Eric Dier was Bayern Munich’s first choice when he moved from Tottenham in January.
Well, he absolutely is according to Bayern favourite Holger Badstuber, who has heaped praise on the former Tottenham man in an interview with Abendzeitung München today.
Dier joined Bayern from Tottenham in the January transfer window initially at no cost, although the deal did include the German giants needing to pay further down the line should various clauses be met.
The expectation was that Dier would simply be a back up option for Thomas Tuchel, playing a bit part role in either defence or defensive midfield when the situation required it.
He was one of the stars last week as they drew with Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-finals, playing confidently alongside Kim Min-jae in the centre of defence in the 2-2 draw in Munich.
That saw him again earning praise for his display, and Badstuber was one of the ones watching, praising him today ahead of the second leg.
“When you see where he comes from, that he wasn’t a regular at Tottenham before – I really have a lot of respect for that,” he said.
“Dier is Bayern’s most stable central defender, which was not to be expected.
“He does it absolutely solidly, calmly, plays simple passes. That’s why Dier is currently number one for me. And Bayern’s other defenders have to worry about that.
“When I look at the whole season, Dier and Kimmich are the only stable constants in defence.”
