Opinion: Tottenham contract extension rumour shows Mourinho living in the past

According to reliable transfer-focused journalist Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham Hotspur are closing in on extending Eric Dier’s contract at the club.

The Italian report suggested on Twitter that Spurs have been working behind the scenes to convince the England international to commit his future to the North London side.

While contracts situations such as the ones Tottenham have faced with Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen are certainly less than ideal, it is interesting that the club would move to avoid the same happening with Dier.

The versatile battler has been a fragment of his former self in the last 12 months, where he has looked short of confidence and put in a number of performances that have evoked the ire of the Spurs supporters.

Jose Mourinho certainly has a job on his hands to get Dier back to the commanding leader from the early Mauricio Pochettino days.

Back when the Tottenham boss was at Manchester United, rumours suggested the Portuguese coach wanted to bring Dier from Spurs to Old Trafford.

Should the latest rumour be true, it shows that Mourinho is judging the midfielder on his performances from four-to-five years ago rather than from his time at Spurs.

Most Tottenham fans would agree that Dier has not been up to the required standard recently to command a place in the Spurs team.

With the club allowing Victor Wanyama to leave, it seems odd that Dier would be treated differently and be a player that is adjudged to be important enough to have a contract extension waiting in the wings for him.

Who knows? Perhaps the break will have done Dier good and he will prove his doubters wrong?

Most Tottenham fans may be sceptical.