Aston Villa Linked With Surprise Move for Eric Dier in Bid to Shore Up Midfield Mid-Season

​Aston Villa have been tipped to make a surprise move for out of favour Spurs and England midfielder Eric Dier in the January transfer window. 

The 25-year-old has fallen down the pecking order at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium so far this season, and could be one of the victims of the club's poor league form when the transfer window reopens this winter. 

Aston Villa invested heavily in the summer, with £130m spent on their squad following their return to the Premier League in May. However, the ​Birmingham Mail report that their spending is far from over and that Dier could well be on the shortlist of new transfer targets for Dean Smith's side. 

The defensive midfielder has played over 200 games for Spurs since he arrived at the club back in 2014 from Sporting CP. He initially established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet under guidance of Mauricio Pochettino. 

He also forged a place from himself in Gareth Southgate's England setup, featuring regularly at the 2018 World Cup in Russia and winning 40 caps for the national since his debut in 2015. 

The arrival of Tanguy Ndombele in the summer and Harry Winks' growing influence in the first team has seen Dier feature just three times in all competitions so far this season though, prompting rumours that he could be surplus to requirements in north London.

Indeed, a mixture of injury and form issues have meant that the anchorman has started just six Premier League games in all of 2019; leading to Gareth Southgate overlooking him for England selection as the likes of Declan Rice rise above him in the pecking order.

The England international would certainly be in demand should he become available in January. Villa would face stiff competition for his services with ​Everton and ​West Ham also credited with interest in the 25-year-old. 

Source : 90min