but asked what the missing ingredient was at Spurs, Dier struggles to answer: “Honestly, I don’t know. I always look at the first Carabao Cup final [in 2015 when Tottenham lost 2-1 to Chelsea]. If we’d won a trophy in our first season it would have really propelled us. It could have shaped the next five years completely differently. That’s the one that bothered me the most.”
Dier certainly doesn’t blame Daniel Levy, Tottenham’s recently departed chairman, whom the fans often criticised for the lack of success. “I sent him a message after he left, because I always had a good relationship with Daniel,” Dier says. “The way I saw it was he was always defending Tottenham’s interest, all the time, right to the tips of his fingernails. As a fan that should be appreciated, you know? If your owner is looking after your club like that. Just look at what has happened to a lot of huge football clubs financially. Tottenham managed to build the best training ground in the world, best stadium, while still competing and being financially stable. For Tottenham to do that is remarkable. I don’t think anyone can argue with that.”