Eric Dier joins Bayern - why the Bundesliga giants wanted to sign the Spurs defender

The January transfer window often has a habit of throwing up some unexpected transfers, but even the most ardent football fan would have raised at least one eyebrow when Tottenham defender Eric Dier was spotted in Germany on Thursday morning, ahead of his move to Bayern Munich. The 29-year-old England international has over 270 Premier League games to his name, but with his contract at the club set to expire at the end of the season, offers for Dier were few and far between. And yet, he has now signed a deal that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2024 with a club option for one additional year. So why are Bayern picking up the defender in what seems like an entirely unexpected move?

Why Bayern have decided to sign Dier

Before we take a look at what Dier offers his new club, it’s worth considering the wider context of Bayern’s strategy in the transfer window to better explain the decision to sign the Tottenham defender. In the summer, the Bundesliga giants spent no less than €150 million signing Harry Kane, Min-jae Kim and Daniel Peretz, not to mention established stars like Konrad Laimer and Raphaël Guerreiro on free transfers. Which is the highest sum of money Bayern have ever spent in a single season on new players. When we then couple that with the fact that the club already have three established central defenders in the aforementioned Kim, Matthijs de Ligt and Dayot Upamecano, who collectively cost no less than €160m to sign in the last five seasons, it’s understandable why the German giants would opt for a cheaper recruit in the January window. And since Dier will reportedly cost Bayern just €4m in transfer fees, he certainly doesn’t break the bank. 

Where Dier will fit into Bayern’s squad 

At his press conference on Thursday, Thomas Tuchel discussed Dier’s move to the club and underlined why he may prove to be such a useful player for his new club. "He used to play a lot of Premier League games as a no.6, but has only played centre-back recently,” noted the Bayern head coach. “This frees [Leon] Goretzka up for midfield and he no longer has to switch from central midfield to centre-back, which he has always done very well.”

Indeed, Dier was undoubtedly something of a utility player at Tottenham, where he made just under 200 appearances as a central defender, but also featured as a central midfielder in one form or another no less than 140 times, as well as 21 games at right-back. It’s also no coincidence that these three positions are exactly where Bayern are looking for cover in the January window. And while a more expensive signing may have arrived at the Allianz Arena expecting to play each week, Dier will likely be used as an impact sub off the bench or slotted into a number of positions when called upon. As such, when we couple that with his low transfer fee, he could prove to be a very useful player for his new club.