Tottenham and Sporting Lisbon agree deal for young English ace Eric Dier

Eric Dier in action for the England U-19 side.

Tottenham Hotspur have struck deal with Sporting Lisbon for young English defender Eric Dier, according to reports.

Spurs and Sporting have now reached an agreement, after the Premier League side matched their valuation of the player. The tall and lanky defender is a rare England talent in that he is a product not of his native England, but was schooled in football down south in Portugal.

The Cheltenham born youngster moved to Portugal at the tender age of 10 and came up through the heralded Sporting academy, before making his debut for the first team in 2012. However, he was disillusioned at the lack of game time he received for Sporting last season. The ex-Everton loanee made only 16 appearances for at the Estádio José Alvalade last season, making only 11 starts in the process.

Dier’s dream though, has always been the Premier League and a return to his native land to ply his trade. Now, with Spurs on the verge of completing a £4million transfer for the young Englishman, the dream seems to be heading towards fulfilment.

Only a medical now stands between Dier and a Spurs shirt, a procedure the club chiefs are confident will be done in the next few days.

Dier will supposedly add great versatility to the defensive side of things for Spurs with the youngster capable of playing in three positions.

The 20-year old has been widely used by Marco Silva this pre-season for Sporting, taking advantage of the absence of Marcos Rojo, who is also reported to be moving away from the Portuguese club after an impressive World Cup.

If the deal goes through, Dier will become the third signing for new Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino, following the footsteps of Ben Davies and Michel Vorm from Swansea.

We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Sporting Lisbon for the transfer of Eric Dier, subject to a medical.

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 31, 2014